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AN

ALARM

UNCONVERTED SINNERS;

A SERIOUS TREATISE

CONVERSION.

BY REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.

BZTJSXO AVS ASRISaXO.

PUBLISHED BY THE

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORE.

r.n^

In the revision of this work numerous obsolete or defective
words or phrases have been altered, and some passages, in-
cluding a few referring to denominational peculiarities, have
been omitted.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

PACK.

An Earnest Invitation to Sinners to turn to God, ... 5

CHAPTER I.
Showing what Conversion is not, and Correcting some
Mistakes about it, 9

CHAPTER II.
Showing positively what Conversion is, 19

CHAPTER III.
Of the Necessity of Conversion, 54

CHAPTER IV.
Showing the Marks of the Unconverted^ 80

CHAPTER V.
Showing the Miseries of the Unconverted, 98

CHAPTER VI.
Containing Directions to the Unconverted, 127

CHAPTER VII.

Containing the Motives to Conversion, 1G3

Conclusion, 179

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ALARM

UNCONVERTED SINNERS.

INTRODUCTION.

An earnest Invitation to Sinners to torn to God.

Dearly beloved, I gladly acknowledge myself a
debtor to you, and am concerned, as I -would be
found a good steward of the household of God, to
give to every one his portion. But the physician
is most solicitous for those patients whose case is
most doubtful and hazardous ; and the father's pity
is especially turned towards his dying child. So
unconverted souls call for earnest compassion and
prompt diligence to pluck them as brands from the
burning, Jude 23 ; therefore to them I shall first
apply myself in these pages.

But whence shall I fetch my argument ? Where-
with shall I win them? 0 that I could tell. I
would write to them in tears, I would weep out
every argument, I would empty my veins fo»ink, I

6 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

would petition them on my knees. 0 how thank-
ful should I be if they would be prevailed with to
repent and turn.

How long have I labored for you ! How often
would I have gathered you ! This is what I have
prayed for and studied for these many years, that I
might bring you to God. 0 that I might now d,o
it. Will you yet be entreated ?

But, Lord, how insuflScient am I for this work.
Alas, wherewith shall I pierce the scales of Levia-
than, or make the heart feel that it is hard as the
nether millstone? Shall I go and speak to the
grave, and expect the dead will obey me and come
forth ? Shall I make an oration to the rocks, or
declaim" to the mountains, and think to move them
with arguments ? Shall I give the blind to see ?
From the beginning of the world was it not heard
that a man opened the eyes of the blind ; but thou,
0 Lord, canst pierce the heart of the sinner ; I can
but draw the bow at a venture, but do thou direct
the arrow between the joints of the harness, slay the
sin, and save the soul of the sinner that casts his
eyes on these pages.

There is no entering into heaven but by the strait
passage of the second birth ; without holiness you
shall never see God. Now give yourselves unto the
Lord. Now set yourselves to seek him. Now set
up the Lord Jesus in your hearts, and set him up in
your Ijpuses. Kiss the Son, Psalm 2:12, and em-

INTEOmJCnON. 7

brace the tenders of mercy ; touch his sceptre and
live ; for why will ye die ? I beg not for myself,
but would have you happy : this is the prize I run
for. My soul's desire and prayer for you is, that
you may be saved. Rom. 10:1. What greater joy
to a minister than to hear of souls bom unto Christ?

I beseech you suffer friendly plainness and free-
dom with you in your deepest concern. I am not
playing ,the orator ; these Unes are upon a weighty
errand indeed — to convince, to convert, and to save
you. If I would quiet a crying infant, I might sing
to him in a pleasing mood, and rock him asleep ; but
when the child is fallen into the fire, the parent takes
another course ; he will not try to still him with a
song or a trifle. I know, if we speed not with you,
you are lost ; if we cannot get your consent to " arise
and come away," you perish forever: no conversion,
and no salvation: we must get your good-wUl, or
leave you miserable.

But here the difiSculty of my work again recurs
upon me. Lord, choose my stones out of the brook.
1 Sam. 17 : 40, 45. I come in the name of the Lord
of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. I come
forth, like the stripling David, to wrestle, not with
flesh and blood, but with principahties and powers,
and rulers of the darkness of this world. Eph. 6:12.
This day let the Lord smite the Philistines, spoil the
strong man of his armor, and give me the captives
out of his hand. Lord, choose my words/ choose

8 ALLEINE'S ALAKM.

my weapons for me ; and when I put my hand into
the bag, and take thence a stone and shng it, do
thou carry it to the mark, and make it sink, not into
the forehead, but into the heart of the unconverted
sinner, and smite him to the ground Hke Saul of
Tarsus. Acts 9:4.

But I turn me unto you. Some of you do not
know what I mean by conversion, and in vain shall
I attempt to persuade you to that which yqu do not
understand ; therefore for your sakes I will show
what this conversion is.

Others cherish secret hopes of mercy, though they
continue as they are ; and for them I must show the
necessity of conversion.

Others are like to harden themselves with a vain
conceit that they are converted already ; to them I
must show the marks of the unconverted.

Others, because they feel no harm, fear none, and
so sleep as upon the top of a mast ; to them I shall
show the misery of the unconverted.

Others sit still, because they see not their way
of escape ; to them I shall show the means of con-
version.

And finally, for the quickening of all, I shall close
with the motives to conversion.

MISTAKES ABOUT CONVERSION. 9

CHAPTER I.

Showing what Conversion is not, and correcting some mis-
takes about it.

Let the blind Samaritans "worship they know not
what. John 4 : 22. Let the heathen Athenians in-
scribe their altar "To the unknown God." Acts
17 : 22. Let Papists commend ignorance as the
mother of devotion. They that know man's consti-
tution, and the nature of the reasonable soul, cannot
but know that the understanding has such empire
in the soul, that he who will go rationally to work
must labor to let in light there. And therefore,
that you may not mistake me, I shall first show
what I mean by the conversion I persuade you to
endeavor after.

Truly, my beloved, the devil hath made many
counterfeits of conversion, and cheats one with this,
and another with that ; and such craft and artifice
he hath in his mystery of deceits, that, if it were
possible, he would deceive the very elect. Now,
that I may cure the ruinous mistake of some who
think they are converted when they are not, as well
as remove the troubles and fears of others, who think
they are not converted when they are, I shall show

you THE NATURE OF CONVERSION, BOTH WHAT IT IS
NOT, AND WHAT IT IS.

We will begin with the negative.

10 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

It is not the taking upon us the prof ession of Chris-
tianity. Christianity is more than a name. If we
will hear Paul, it lies not in word, but in power. 1
Cor. 4 : 20. If to cease to be Jews and Pagans, and
to put on the Christian profession, had been true
conversion — as this is all that some would have to
be understood by it — Avho better Christians than
they of Sardis and Laodicea ? These were all Chris-
tians by profession, and had a name to live only : but
because they had a name, they are condemned by
Christ, and threatened to be rejected. Rev. 3:1,
16. Are there not many that name the name of the
Lord Jesus, that yet depart not from iniquity, 2 Tim.
2 : 19, and "profess they know God, but in works
deny him ?" Titus 1 : 16. And will God receive
these for true converts ? What, converts from sin,
when yet they live in sin ? It is a visible contradic-
tion. Surely, if the lamp of profession would have
served the turn, the foolish virgins had never been
shut out. Matt. 25 : 12. We find not only profes-
sors, but preachers of Christ, and wonder-workers,
rejected, because evil-workers. Matt. 1 : 22, 23.

It is not putting on the badge of Christ in bap-
tism. Ananias, and Sapphira, and Simon Magus
were baptized as well as the rest. How fondly do
many mistake here, deceiving and being deceived ;
dreaming that effectual grace is necessarily tied to
the external administration of baptism — which, what
is it but to revive the popish tenet of the sacraments

MISTAKES ABOUT CONVERSION. H

•working grace ? — and thus, that every baptized per-
son is regenerated, not only sacramentally, but really
and properly. Hence, men fancy, that being regen-
erated already when baptized, they need no farther
work. But if this were so, then all that have been
baptized must necessarily be saved, because the
promise of pardon and salvation is made to conver-
sion and regeneration. Acts 3:19; Matt. 19 : 28.
And indeed, were conversion and baptism the same,
then men would do well to carry but a certificate
of their baptism when they died, and upon sight of
this there were no doubt of their admission into
heaven.

In short, if there be no more necessary to conver-
sion, or regeneration, than to be baptized, this will fly
directly in the face of that scripture, Matthew 7:13,
14, as well as midtitudes of others ; for, first, we
shall then no more say, " Strait is the gate, and nar-
row is the way ;" for if all that were baptized are
saved, the door is exceeding wide, and we shall
henceforth say, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the
way that leadeth unto life." If this be true, thou-
sands may go in abreast ; and we will no more teach
that the righteous are scarcely saved, or that there
is need of such a stir in taking the kingdom of heaven
by violence, and striving to enter in. Surely, if the
way be so easy as many suppose, that there is httle
more necessary than to be baptized and to cry,
"Lord, have mercy," we need not put ourselves to

13 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

such seeking, and knocking, and "wrestling, as the
word reqxiires in order to salvation. Secondly, if
this be true, we shall no more say, " Few there be
that find it ;" yea, we will rather say, " Few there be
that miss it." We shall no more say, that of the
"many" that are "called, but few are chosen,"
Matt. 22: 14, and that even of the professing "Is-
rael but a remnant shall be saved." Rom. 9 : 27.
If this doctrine be true, we shall not say any more
with the disciples, " Who then shall be saved ?" but
rather, " Who then shall not be saved ?" Then, if a
man be baptized, though he be a fornicator, or a
railer or covetous, or a drunkard, yet he shall inherit
the kingdom of God, 1 Cor. 6:11, and 6 : 9, 10.

But some will reply, Such as these, though they
did receive regenerating grace in baptism, are since
fallen away, and must be renewed again, or else they
cannot be saved.

I answer, 1. There is an infallible connection be-
tween regeneration and salvation, as we have already
shown. 2. Then man must be bom agiain a second
time, which carries a great deal of absurdity in its
face : and why may not men be twice bom in nature
as well as in grace ? But, 3, and above all, this
grants, however, the thing I contend for, that what-
ever men do or pretend to receive in baptism, if they
be found afterwards to be grossly ignorant, or pro-
fane, or formal, without the power of godliness, they
"must be born again," or else be shut out of the

MISTAKES ABOUT <X)NVERSIOX. 13

Idngdom of God. So then they must have more to
plead for themselves than their baptismal regenera-
tion.

Well, in this you see all are agreed, that, be it
more or less that is reroived in baptism, if men are
evidently unsanctified, they must be renewed again
by a thorough and powerful change, or else they
cannot escape the damnation of hell. " Be not de-
ceived; God is not mocked." Whether it be yoxir
baptism, or whatever else you pretend, I tell you
from the living God, that if any of you be a prayer-
less person, or xmclean, or mahcious, or covetous, or
riotous, or a scoflFer, or a lover of evil company,
Prov. 13 : 20, in a word, if you are not a holy, strict,
and self-denying Christian, you cannot be saved.
Heb. 12:14; Matt. 15:14.

Paul, while imconverted, touching the righteous-
ness which is in the law, was blameless. Phil. 3 : 6.
The Pharisee could say, " I am no extortioner, adul-
terer, \mjust," etc. Thou must have something more
than all this to show, Luke 18 : 11, or else, however
thou mayest justify thyself, God will condemn thee.
I condemn not morality, but warn thee not to rest
in it; piety includes morahty, as Christianity doth
humanity, and grace, reason ; but we must not divide
the tables.

It is also manifest that men may have a form of
godliness, without the power. 2 Tim. 3:5. Men
may pray long, Matt. 23 : 14 ; and fast often, Luke

14 ALLEINE'S ALAKM.

18:12; and hear gladly, Mark 6:20; and be very
forward in the service of God, though costly and
expensive, Isa. 1:11; and yet be strangers to con-
version. They must have more to plead for them-
selves than that they go to chuixh, give alms, and
make use of prayer, to prove themselves sound
converts. There is no outward service but a hypo-
crite may do it, even to the "giving all his goods to
feed the poor, and his body to be burned." 1 Cor.
13:3.

Conversion is not the mere chaining up of corrup-
tion by education, human laws, or the force of afflic-
tion. It is too common and easy to mistake educa-
tion for grace ; but if this were enough, who a bet-
ter man than Jehoash? While Jehoida, his uncle,
lived, he was very forward in God's service, and calls
upon him to repair the house of the Lord, 2 Kings,
12 : 2, 7 ; but here was nothing more than good
education all this while ; for whdn his good tutor
was taken out of the way, he appears to have been
but a wolf chained up, and falls into idolatry.

In short, conversion consists not in illumination or
conviction, in a superficial change or partial reforma-
tion. An apostate may be an enlightened man, Heb.
6:4; and a Felix tremble imder conviction, Acts
24 : 25 ; and a Herod do many things, Mark 6 : 20.
It is one thing to have sin alarmed only by con^•lc-
tions, and another to have it crucified by converting
grace. Many, because they have been troubled in

MISTAKES ABOUT CONVERSION. IS

conscience for their sins, think well of their case,
miserably mistaking conviction for conversion. With
these, Cain might have passed for a convert, who
ran up and down the world like a man distracted,
imder the rage of a guilty conscience, till, with build-
ing and business, he had stifled it. Others think,
that because they have given over their riotous
courses, and are broken off from evil company or
some particular lust, and are reduced to sobriety
and civihty, they are now no other than real con-
verts ; forgetting that there is a vast difference be-
tween bemg sanctified and civilized ; and that many
seek to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and are
not far from it, and arrive to the almost of Chris-
tianity, and yet fall short at last. While conscience
holds the whip over them, many will pray, hear, read,
and forbear their delightful sins ; but no sooner is
the hon asleep than they are at their sins again. Who
more rehgious than the Jews when God's hand was
upon them : yet no sooner was the affliction over,
than they forgot God. Thou mayst have forsaken
a troublesome sin, and have escaped the gross pol-
lutions of the world, and yet in all this not have
changed thy carnal nature.

You may cast lead out of the rude mass into the
form and features of a man, yet all the T*-hile it is
but lead still ; so a man may pass through divers
transmutations, from ignorance to knowledge, from
profaneness to civiUty, and thence to a form of relig*

16 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

ion, and all this time he is but carnal and unregen-
erate whilst his nature remains unchanged.

Hear then, 0 sinners, hear as you would live.
Why would you wilfully deceive yourselves, or build
your hopes upon the sand ? I know that he may
find hard work that goes to pluck away your hopes.
It cannot but be ungrateful to you, and truly it is
not pleasing to me. I set about it as a surgeon
when about to cut off a mortified limb from his well-
beloved friend, which of necessity he must do, though
with an aching heart. But understand me, beloved,
I am only taking down the ruinous house, which will
otherwise speedily fall of itself and bury you in the
ruins, that I may build it fair, strong, and firm for
ever. The hope of the wicked shall perish. Prov.
11:7. And hadst not thou better, 0 sinner, let the
word convince thee now in time, and let go thy false
and self-deluding hopes, than have death too late
open thine eyes, and find thyself in hell before thou
art aware ? I should be a false and faithless shep-
herd if I should not tell you, that you, who have
built your hopes upon no better grounds than these
before mentioned, are yet in your sins. Let con-
science speak : What is it that you have to plead
for yourselves ? Is it that you wear Christ's livery ;
that you bear his name ; that you are of the visible
church ; that you have knowledge in the points of
religion, are civilized, perforna religious duties, are

MISTAKES ABOUT CONVERSION. 17

just in yoxir dealings, have been troubled in con-
science for your sins ? I tell you, from the Lord,
these pleas will never be accepted at God's bar : all
this, though good in itself, "will not prove you con-
verted, and so will not suffice to your salvation. O
look about you, and bethink yourselves of turning
speedily and entirely. Study your own hearts ; rest
not till God has made thorough work with you ; for
you must be other men, or else you are lost men.

But if these persons be short of conversion, what
shall I say of the profane sinner ? It may be he
will scarcely cast his eyes on, or lend his ear to this
discourse ; but if there be any such reading, or
within hearing, he must know from the Lord that
jnade him, that he is far from the kingdom of God.
May a man keep company with the wise virgins,
and yet be shut out ; and shall not a companion of
fools much more be destroyed ? May a man be
true in his deaUngs, and yet not be justified of God?
What then will become of thee, O wretched man,
whose conscience tells thee thou art false in thy
trade, and false to thy word, and makest thy advan-
tage by a lying tongue ? If men may be enlight-
ened and brought to the external performance of
holy duties, and yet go down to perdition for resting
in them and sitting down on this side of conversion,
what will become of you, 0 miserable families, that
live without God in the world? and of you, O
wretched sinners, with whom God is scarcely in all

19 ALLEINE'S ALAEM.

your ttoughts ; that are so ignorant that you cannot,
or so careless that you will not pray ? O repent
and be converted ; break off your sins by righteous-
ness ; away to Christ for pardoning and renewing
grace ; give up yourselves to him, to walk with him
in holiness, or you shall never see God. 0 that
you would take the warnings of God ! In his name
I once more admonish you : Turn ye at my reproof.
Forsake the foolish, and live. Be sober, righteous,
and godly. Wash your hands, ye sinners ; purify
your hearts, ye double-minded. Cease to do evil,
learn to do well. But if you will go on, you must
die.

THE NATURE OP CONVERSION. 19

CHAPTER II.

SHOWING POSITIVELY WHAT COWVERSION IS.

I MAY not leave you with your eyes half open,
like him that saw "men as trees walking." The
word is profitable for doctrine as well as reproof.
And therefore, having thus far conducted you by
the shelves and rocks of so many dangerous mis-
takes, I would guide you at length into the haven
of truth.

Conversion then, in short, lies in the thorough

CHANGE BOTH OF THE HEART AND LIFE. I shall

briefly describe it in its nature and causes.

I. The AUTHOR of conversion is the Spirit of God,
and therefore it is called " the sanctification of the
Spirit," and " the renewing of the Holy Ghost,"
yet not excluding the other persons in the Trinity ;
for the apostle teacheth us to " bless the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope." And Christ is said to " give
repentance unto Israel," and is called the "ever-
lasting Father," and we his seed, and the children
which God hath given him. Yet this work is prin-
cipally ascribed to the Holy Ghost, and so we arei
said to be " bom of the Spirit."

So then regeneration is a work of God : " We
are bom, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God." John 1:13. If ever thou

Tta ALLEINE'S ALARM.

wouldst be savingly converted, thou must despair
of doing it in thine own strength. It is a resurrec-
tion from the dead, Eph. 2 : 1 ; a nevy^ creation. Gal.
6:15; Eph. 2:10; a vpork of absolute omnipotence,
Eph. 1 : 19. If thou hast no more than thou hadst
by thy first birth, a good nature, a meek and chaste
temper, etc., thou art a stranger to true conversion:
this is a supernatural work.

II. The EFFICIENT CAUSE of convcrsiou is internal,
or external.

1. The internal cause is free grace alone. "Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but
of his mercy he saved us," and "■ by the renewing of
the Holy Ghost." " Of his own will begat he us."
We are chosen and called unto sanctificaiion, not
for it.

God finds nothing in man to excite his love :
enough to provoke his loathing. Look back upon
thyself, 0 Christian ! Do not thine own clothes
abhor thee? Job 9:31. How then should holi-
ness and pureness love thee ? Be astonished, O
heavens, at this ; be moved, 0 earth. Who but
must needs cry, Grace, grace. Hear and blush, ye
children of the Most High — 0 ye unthankful men !
that free grace is no more in your mouths, in your
thoughts ; no more adored, admired, and commended
by such as you. One would think you should be
doing nothing but praising and admiring God wher-
ever you ai'e. How can you forget such grace, or

THE NATUEE OF CONVERSION. 21

pass it over with a slight and formal mention ?
What but free grace could move God to love you,
tmless enmity could do it, unless deformity could do
it ? How affectionately doth Peter lift up his hands :
" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus,
who of his abundant mercy hath begotten us again."
How feelingly doth Paul magnify the free mercy of
God in it : " God who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, hath quickened us to-
gether with Christ. By grace ye are saved."

2. The external cause is the merit and interces-
sion of the blessed Jesus. He hath obtained gifts
for the rebellious, and through him it is that God
worketh in us what is well pleasing in his sight.
Through him are all spiritual blessings bestowed
upon us in heavenly things. Every convert is the
fruit of his travail. He is made sanctification to us.
He sanctified himself — that is, set apart himself as a
sacrifice — that we may be sanctified. " We are
sanctified through the offering of his body once for
all." Heb. 10:10.

It is nothing, then, but the merit and intercession
of Christ, that prevails with God to bestow on us
converting grace. If thou art a new creature, thou
knowest to whom thou owest it ; to Christ's agonies
and prayers. And whither else shouldst thou go ?
If any in the world can show that for thy heart
which Christ can, let them do it. Doth Satan claim
thee ? Doth the world comt thee ? Doth sin sue

as ALLEINE'S ALARKL

for thy heart ? But were these crucified for thee ?

0 Christian, love and serve the Lord whilst thou
hast a being.

III. The INSTRUMENT of convcrsion is either per-
sonal or real. The personal is tbe ministry. I have
begotten you in Christ through the Gospel. 1 Cor.
4 : 15. Christ's ministers are they that are sent to
open men's eyes, and to turn them to God. Acts
26:18.

O unthankful world, httle do you know what you
are doing while you are persecuting the messengers
of the Lord. These are they whose business it is,
under Christ, to save you. Whom have you re-
proached and blasphemed ? Against whom have
you exalted your voice, and lifted your eyes on high ?
" These are the servants of the most high God, that
show unto you the way of salvation," and do you
thus requite them, O foolish and unwise ! O sons
of ingratitude, against whom do ye sport yourselves ?
These are the instruments that God uses to convert
and save sinners : and do you revile your physicians,
and throw your pilots overboard ? " Father, for-
give them ; for they know not what they do."

The real instrument is the word. We are begot-
ten by the word of truth. This it is that enlightens
the eye; that converts the soul. Psalm 19 : 7, 8;
that maketh wise to salvation. 2 Tim. 3 : 15. This
is the incorruptible seed, by which we are bom again.

1 Pet. 1 : 23. If we are washed, it is by the word.

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 23

Eph. 5 : 26. If we are sanctified, it is througli the
truth. John 17: 17. "Of his own will begat he
us with the word of truth." James 1:18.

0 ye saints, how should ye love the word ; for by
this you have been converted : 0 ye sinners, how
should you ply the word ; for by means of this you
must be converted. You that have felt its renew-
ing power, make much of it while you hve ; be for
ever thankful for it ; tie it about your neck ; write it
upon your hand ; lay it in your bosom. When you
go, let it lead you ; when you sleep, let it keep you ;
when you wake, let it talk with you : say with holy
David, " I will never forget thy precepts, for by
them thou hast quickened me." You that are un-
converted, read the word with diligence ; flock to it
where powerfully preached : pray for the coming of
the Spirit in the word ; come from your knees to the
sermon, and come to your knees from the sermon.
The seed doth not prosper, because not watered by
prayers and tears, nor covered by meditation.

IV. The FINAL CAUSE OR END of conversiou is
man's salvation, and God's glory. We are chosen
through sanctification to salvation ; called that we
might be glorified ; but especially that God may be
glorified, that we should " show forth his praise,"
and "be fruitful in good works." 0 Christian,
do not forget the end of thy calling; "let thy
light shine," let thy lamp burn ; let thy fruits be
good, and many, and in season ; let all thy designs

24 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

fall in with God's, that he may " be magnified in
thee."

V. The SUBJECT of conversion is the sinner, and
that in all his parts and powers, members and mind.
Those who are drawn to Christ, or come to him by
believing, are his sheep, " whom the Father hath
given him." John 6 : 3Y, 44. Wouldst thou know
whether thou art given to Christ ? prove thy con-
version, and then never doubt of thy election ; or,
if thou canst not prove it, set upon a present and
thorough turning. Whatever God's purposes be,
which are secret, I am sure his precepts are plain.
How desperately do rebels argue ! " If I am elect-
ed I shall be saved, do what I will : if not, I shall
be damned, do what I can." Perverse sinner, wilt
thou begin where thou shouldest end ? Is not the
word before thee? Whatsaithit? "Repent and
be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."
" If you mortify the deeds of the body, you shall
live." "Believe and be saved." What can bo
plainer ? Do not stand still disputing about thine
election, but set to repenting and believing ; cry to
God for converting grace. Revealed things belong
to thee ; in these busy thyself. It is just, as one
well said, that they who will not feed on the plain
food of the word should be choked with the bones.
Whatever God's purposes be, I am sure his promises
are true ; whatever the decrees of heaven be, I am
sure that if I repent and believe I shall be saved ;

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 95

and that if I repent not, I shall be damned. Is not
here plain ground for thee ; and wilt thou yet run
upon the rocks ?

More particularly, this change of conversion passes
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MAN. A camal persou
may have some shreds of good morality, but he is
never good throughout. Conversion is not a repair-
ing of the old building ; but it takes all down, and
erects a new structure : it is not the putting in a
patch of holiness ; but, with the true convert, holiness
is Avoven into all his powers, principles, and practice.
The sincere Christian is quite a new fabric, from the
foundation to the top-stone. He is a new man, a
new creature. All things are become new. Con-
version is a deep work, a heart-work. It makes a
new man in a new world. It goes throughout with
men, throughout the mind, throughout the members,
throughout the motions of the whole life.

1. Throughout the mind. It makes a universal
change within.

(1.) It turns the balance of the judgment ; so that
God and his glory outweigh all carnal and worldly
interests. It opens the eye of the mind, and makes
the scales of its native ignorance fall off, and turns
men from darkness to light. The man that before
saw no danger in his condition, now concludes
himself lost, and for ever undone, Acts 2:37, except
renewed by the power of grace. He that formerly
thought there was little barm in sin, now comes to

Si8 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

see it to be the chief of evils ; he sees the unreason-
ableness, the unrighteousness, the deformity and
filthiness of sin ; so that he is affrighted with it,
loathes it, dreads it, flees from it, and even abhors
himself for it. He that could see little sin in him-
self, and could find no matter for confession, now
sees the rottenness of his heart, the desperate and
deep pollution of his whole nature. He cries. Un-
clean, unclean : Lord, purge me with hyssop, wash
me thoroughly, create in me a clean heart. He sees
himself altogether filthy, corrupt, both root and tree ;
he writes unclean upon all his parts, and powers,
and performances ; he discovei-s the filthy corners
that he was never aware of, and sees the blasphe-
my, and theft, and murder, and adultery, that is in
his heart, of which before he was ignorant. Here-
tofore he saw no form nor comeliness in Christ, nor
beauty, that he should desire him ; but now he finds
the hidden treasure, and will sell all to buy this field.
Christ is the pearl he seeks.

Now, according to this new light, the man is of
another mind, another judgment, than he was be-
fore. Now God is all with him, he hath none in
heaven, nor in earth like him ; he truly prefers him
before all the world ; his favor is his life, the light
of his countenance is more than corn, or wine, and
oil. A hypocrite may come to yield a general as-
sent that God is the chief good ; yea, the wiser
heathens, some few of them, have at last stumbled

THE NATURE OP CONVEKSION. 27

upon this : but no hypocrite comes so far as to look
upon God as the most desirable and suitable good
to him, and thereupon to acquiesce in him. This is
the convert's voice : " The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and
there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for
ever."

(2.) It turns the bias of the will both as to means
and end. The intentions of the will are altered.
Now the man hath new ends and designs ; now he
intends God above all, and desires and designs noth-
ing in all the world, so much as that Christ may be
magnified in him. He counts himself more happy
in this than in all that the earth could yield, that he
may be serviceable to Christ, and bring him glory.
This is the mark he aims at, that the name of Jesus
may be great in the world.

Reader, dost thou view this, and never ask thy-
self whether it be thus with thee ? Pause a while,
and breathe on this great concern.

The choice is also changed. He pitcheth upon
God as his blessedness, and upon Christ and holiness
as means to bring him to God. He chooseth Jesus
for his Lord. He is not merely forced to Christ, by
the storm, nor doth he take Christ for bare necessity,
but he comes freely. His choice is not made in a
fright, as with the terrified conscience, or the dying
sinner that will seemingly do any thmg for Christ,

28 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

but only takes Christ rather than hell. He deliber-
ately resolves that Christ is his best choice, and
would rather have him than all the good of this
world, might he enjoy it while he would. Phil.
1 : 23. Again, he takes holiness for his path ; he
does not of mere necessity submit to it, but he likes
and loves it : "I have chosen the way of thy pre-
cepts." He takes God's testimonies, not as his bond-
age, but as his heritage ; yea, heritage for ever.
He counts them not his burden, but his bliss ; not
his cords, but his cordials. He does not only bear,
but takes up Christ's yoke : he takes not holiness as
the stomach does the loathed potion, which a man
will take rather than die, but as the hungry doth
his beloved food. No time passeth so sweetly Avith
him, when he is himself, as that he spends in the
exercises of holiness. These are both his aliment
and element, the desire of his eyes and the joy of
his heart. Put it to thy conscience whether thou
art the man. 0 happy man, if this be thy case!
But see thou be impartial in the search.

(3.) It turns the bent of the affections. These
run all in a new channel. The Jordan is now driven
back, and the water runs upwards against its natu-
ral course. Christ is his hope. This is his prize.
Here his eye is : here his heart. He is contented to
cast all overboard, as the merchant in the storm
ready to perish, so he may but keep this jewel.

The first of his desires is not after gold, but grace.

THE NATURE OP CONVERSION. 29

He hungers after it, he seeks it as silver, he digs for
it as for hid treasure ; he had rather be gracious
than be great ; he had rather be the holiest man on
earth than the most learned, the most famous, the
most prosperous. While carnal, he said, O if I were
but in great esteem, rolling in wealth, and swimming
in pleasure ; if my debts were paid, and I and mine
provided for, then I were a happy man. But now
the tone is changed. O, saith the convert, if I had
but my corruptions subdued, if I had such a measure
of grace, such fellowship with God, though I were
poor and dospised I should not care, I should ac-
count myself a blessed man. Reader, is this the
language of thy soul ?

His joys are changed. He rejoiceth in the ways
of God's testimonies as much as in all riches. He
dehghts in the law of the Lord, wherein once he
had little savor. He hath no such joy as in the
thoughts of Christ, the fruition of his company, the
prosperity of his people.

His cares are quite altered. He was once set
for the world, and any scrap of by-time was enough
for his soul : now his cry is, " What shall I do to
be saved?" His great solicitude is to secure his
soul. 0 how would he bless you if you could but
put him out of doubt of this ! His fears are not so
much of suflfering as of sinning. Once he was afraid
of nothing so much as the loss of his estate or repu-
tation ; nothing sounded so terrible to him as pain,

9i ALLEINE'S ALARM.

or poverty, or disgrace ; now these are little to him,
in comparison of God's dishonor or displeasure.
How warily doth he walk, lest he should tread upon
a snare! He feareth alway; he hath his eye upon
his heart, and is ever watchful lest he should be
overtaken with sin. It kills his heart to think of
losing God's favor ; this he dreads as his only un-
doing. No thought would pain him so much as to
think of parting with Christ.

His love runs a new course. My Love was
crucified, saith Ignatius ; that is, my Christ. This
is my Beloved, saith the spouse. Cant. 5:16. How
doth Augustine often pour his love upon Christ!
0 " eternal blessedness !" He can find no words
sweet enough. " Let me see thee, 0 light of mine
eyes. Come 0 thou joy of my spirit. Let me be-
hold thee, O life of my soul. Appear unto me,
0 my great delight, my sweet comfort : 0 my God,
my life, and the whole glory of my soul. Let
me find thee, 0 desire of my heart. Let me hold
thee, O love of my soul. Let me embrace thee, 0
heavenly bridegroom. Let me possess thee !"

His sorrows have now a new vent. The view of
his sins, the sight of Christ crucified, that could
scarcely stir him before, now how much do they
affect his heart !

His hatred boils, his anger bums against sin. He
hath no patience with himself : he calls himself fool
and beast, and thinks any name too good for him-

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 81

self, when his indignation is stirred up against sin.
Psalm '73:22; Prov. 30 : 2. He could once delight
in it with much pleasure ; now he loathes the thought
of returning to it.

Commune then with thine own heart, and attend
to the general current of thine aflfections, whether
they be towards God in Christ above all other con-
cerns. Indeed, sudden and strong motions of the
affections are ofttimes found in hypocrites, especial-
ly where the natural temperament is warm. And,
contrariwise, the sanctified themselves are many
kimes without sensible stirring of the affections,
where the temper is more slow, dry, and dull. The
great inquiry is, whether the judgment and will be
steadily determined for God above all other good,
real or apparent ; if so, and if the affections do sin-
cerely follow their choice and conduct, though it be
not so strongly and sensibly as is to be desired,
there is no doubt but the. change is saving.

2. Throughout the members. Those that were
before the instruments of sin, are now become the
holy vessels of Christ's hving kingdom. He that
before dishonored his body, now possesses his ves-
sel in sanctification and honor, in temperance, chas-
tity, and sobriety, and dedicates it to the Lord.

The eye, that was once a wandering eye, a wanton
eye, a haughty, a covetous eye, is now employed, as
Mary's, in weeping over its sins, in beholding God
in his works, in reading his word, or in looking

39 ALLEINE'S ALARM,

for objects of mercy and opportunities for Ms ser-
vice.

The ear, that was once open to Satan's call, is now
open to the voice of Christ's house, and to his disci-
pline. It saith, " Speak, Lord, for thy servant hear-
eth." It waits for his words as the rain, and relishes
them more than the appointed food, "more than
the honey and the honey-comb."

The head, that was full of worldly designs, is now
filled with other matters, and set on the study of
God's will, and the man employs his head not so much
about his gain as about his duty. The thoughts and
cares that fill his head are, principally, how he may
please God and flee sin.

His heart, that was filled with filthy lusts, is now
become an altar of incense, where the fire of divine
love is ever kept burning, and whence the daily sac-
rifices of prayer and praise, and the sweet incense
of holy desires, ejaculations, and prayers, are con-
tinually ascending.

The mouth is become a well of life, his tongue as
choice silver, and his lips feed many ; now the salt
of grace has seasoned his speech, has eaten out the
corruption. Col. 4 : 6, and cleansed the mouth from
its filthy communication, flattery, boasting, and back-
biting, that once came hke flashes that proceeded
from the hell that was in the heart. The throat, that
was once an open sepulchre, now sends forth the
sweet breath of prayer and holy discourse, and the

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 33

man speaks in another tongue, even the language of
Canaan, and is never so well as when talking of God
and Christ, and the matters of another world. His
mouth bringeth forth wisdom ; his tongue is become
the silver trumpet of his Maker's praise, his glory,
and the best member that he hath.

Now here you will find the hypocrite sadly de-
ficient. He speaks, it may be, like an angel, but he
hath a covetous eye, or the gain of unrighteousness
in his hand ; or the hand is white, but his heart is
full of rottenness. Matt. 23 : 27, full of unmortified
cares, a very oven of lust, a shop of pride, the seat
of malice. It may be, with Nebuchadnezzar's image,
he hath a golden head, a great deal of knowledge ;
but he hath feet of clay, his affections are worldly,
he minds earthly things, and his way and walk are
sensual and carnal. The work is not thorough with
him.

3. Throughout the life and practice, the new man
takes a new course. His " conversation is in heav-
en." No sooner doth Christ call by effectual grace,
but he straightway becomes " a follower of him."
When God hath given the new heart, and written
his law in bis mind, he forthwith walks in his stat-
utes, and keeps his judgments.

Though sin may dwell — truly a wearisome and
imwelcome guest — ^in him, yet it hath "no more do-
minion over him." " He hath his fruit unto holi-
ness," and though he makes many a blot, yet the

AIMiie>l Alarm. ^

31 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

law of life and Jesus is what he looks at as his copy,
and he hath an unfeigned respect to all God's com-
mandments, making conscience of every sin and ev-
ery duty. His very infirmities, which he cannot help
though he would, are his soul's burden, and are like
the dust in a man's eye, which though but little, yet
is not a little troublesome. 0 man, dost thou read
this and never turn in upon thy soul by self-exam-
ination? The sincere convert is not one man at
church and another at home ; he is not a saint on
his knees, «nd a cheat in his shop ; he will not tithe
mint and cummin, and neglect mercy and judgment,
and the weighty matters of the law ; he doth not
pretend to piety and neglect morality ; but he turns
from all his sins, and keeps all God's statutes, though
not perfectly — except in desire and endeavor — yet
sincerely ; not allowing himself in the breach of any.
Now he delights in the word and sets himself to
prayer, and opens his hand and draws out his soul
to the hungry. " He breaketh off his sins by right-
eousness, and his iniquities by showing mercy to the
poor," and hath " a good conscience, willing in all
tilings to live honestly," and to keep without offence
towards God and man.

Here, again,' you find the unsoundness of many
professors who consider themselves good Christians ;
they are partial in the law, and take up with the
cheap and easy duties of religion, but go not through
with the work. It may be you find them exact in

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 35

their 'words, punctual in their dealings, but then they
do not exercise themselves unto godliness ; and as
for examining themselves and governing their hearts,
to this they are strangers. You may see them duly
at the church ; but follow them to their famiUes, and
there you shall see little but the world minded ; oi'
if they have family duties, follow them to their
closets, and there you shall find their souls are little
looked after. It may be they seem otherwise relig-
ious, but bridle not their tongues, and so " all their
religion is vain." It may be they come up to closet
and family prayer ; but follow them to their shops,
and there you find them in the habit of lying, or
some covert and fashionable way of deceit. Thus
the hypocrite goes not throughout in the course of
his obedience.

VI. The OBJECTS FROM WHICH we turn in conver-
sion are, sin, Satan, the world, and our own right-
eousness.

1. We turn from sin. When a man is converted,
he is for ever at enmity with sin ; yea, with all sin,
but most of all with his own sins, and especially
with his bosom sin. Sin is now the object of his
indignation. His sins swell his sorrows. It is sin
that pierces him and wounds him ; he feels it like a
thorn in his side, like a prick in his eyes : he groans
and struggles under it, and not formally, but feel-
ingly cries out, " 0 wretched man !" He is not im-
patient of any burden so much as of his sin. If God

SS ALLEINE'S ALARM.

should give him his choice, he would choose any
affliction so he might be rid of sin ; he feels it like
the cutting gravel in his shoes, pricking and paining
him as he goes.

Before conversion, he had light thoughts of sm ;
he cherished it in his bosom, as Uriah his lamb ; he
nourished it up, and it grew up together with him ;
it did eat, as it were, of his own meat, and drank of
his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him
as a daughter. But when God opens his eyes by
conversion, he throws it away with abhorrence, as
a man would a loathsome toad, which in the dark
he had hugged fast in his bosom, and thought it
had been some pretty and harmless bird. When a
man is savingly changed, he is deeply convinced
not only of the danger but the defilement of sin;
and O, how earnest is he with God to be purified !
he loathes himself for his sins. He runs to Christ,
and casts himself into the fountain set open for sin
and for uncleanness. If he fall, he has no rest till
he flees to the word, and washes in the infinite foun-
tain, laboring to cleanse himself from all filthiness
both of flesh and spirit.

The sound convert is heartily engaged against sin ;
he struggles with it, he wars against it ; he is too
often foiled, but he will never yield the cause, nor
lay down the weapons, while he hath breath in his
body ; he will make no peace ; he will give no quar-
ter. He can forgive his other enemies ; he can pity

THE NATURE OP CONVERSION. 37

them, and pray for them ; but here he is implacable,
here he is set upon extermination ; he hunteth as it
were for the precious life ; his eye shall not pity,
his hand shall not spare, though it be a right hand
or a right eye. Be it a gainful sin, most delightful
to his nature or the support of his esteem with
worldly friends, yet he will rather throw his gain
down the kennel, see his credit fail, or the flower of
pleasure wither in his hand, than he will allow him-
self in any known way of sin. He will grant no in-
dulgence, he will give no toleration ; he draws upon
sin wherever he meets it, and frowns upon it with
this unwelcome salute, "Have I found thee, 0 mine
enemy?"

Reader, hath conscience been at work while thou
hast been looking over these lines ? Hast thou pon-
dered these things in thy heart ? Hast thou searched
the book withjn, to see if these things be so ? If
not, read it again, and make thy conscience speak,
whether or not it be thus with thee.

Hast thou crucified thy flesh with its affections
and lusts ; and not only confessed, but forsaken thy
sins, all sin in thy fervent desires, and the ordinary
practice of every deliberate and wilful sin in thy life ?
If not, thou art yet unconverted. Doth not con-
science fly in thy face as thou readest, and tell
thee that thou livest in a way of lying for thy ad-
vantage ; that thou usest deceit in thy calling ;
that there is some way of secret wantonness that

9B ALLEINE'S ALARM.

thou livest in? why then, do not deceive thyself;
thou art in the gall of bitterness and the bond of
iniquity.

Doth not thy unbridled tongue, thy indulgence of
appetite, thy wicked company, thy neglect of prayer,
of reading and hearing the word, now witness against
thee, and say, " We are thy works, and we will fol-
low thee ;" or, if I have not hit thee right, doth not
the monitor within tell thee, there is such or such a
way that thou knowest to be evil, that yet for some
carnal respect thou dost tolerate thyself in ? If this
be thy case, thou art to this day unregenerate, and
must be changed or condemned.

2. We turn from Satan. Conversion binds the
strong man, spoils his armor, casts out his goods,
turns men from the power of Satan unto God. Be-
fore, the devil could no sooner hold up his finger to
the sinner to call him to his wicked company, sinful
games, and filthy delights, but presently he followed,
like an ox to the slaughter, and a fool to the correc-
tion of the stocks ; as the bird that hasteth to the
prey, and knoweth not that it is for his life. No
sooner could Satan bid him lie, but presently he had
it on his tongue. No sooner could Satan offer a
wanton object, but he was stung with lust. If the
devil says, "Away with these family duties," be
sure they shall be rarely enough performed in his
house. If the devil says, " Away with this strict-
ness, this preciseness," he will keep far enough from

THE NATUBE OP CONVERSION. 39

it : if he tells him, " There is no need of these closet-
duties," he will go from day to day and scarcely
perform them. But since he is converted he serves
another Master, and takes quite another course : he
goes and comes at Christ's bidding. Satan may
sometimes catch his foot in a trap, but he will no
longer be a wUling captive ; he watches against the
snares and baits of Satan, and studies to be ac-
quainted with his devices ; he is very suspicious of
his plots, and is very jealous in what comes across
him, lest Satan should have some design upon him ;
he " wrestles against principalities and powers ;" he
entertains the messenger of Satan as men do the
messenger of death ; he keeps his eye upon his ene-
my, and watches in his duties, lest Satan should get
an advantage.

3. We turn from the world. Before a man has
true faith, he is overcome of the world ; either he
bows down to mammon, or idolizes his reputation,
or is a " lover of pleasure more than a lover of God."
Here is the root of man's misery by the fall ; he is
turned aside to the creature, and gives that esteem,
confidence, and afiection to the creature, that is due
to God alone,

0 miserable man, what a deformed monster hath
sin made thee! God made thee "little lower than
the angels ;" sin, little better than the devils. The
world, that was formed to serve thee, is come to rule
thee — the deceitful harlot hath bewitched thee with

40 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

her enchantments, and made thee bow down and
serve her.

But converting grace sets all in order again, and
puts God on the throne, and the world at his foot-
stool ; Christ in the heart, and the world under the
feet. So Paul, " I am crucified to the world, and
the world to me," Before this change, all the cry-
was, "Who will show us any worldly good?" but
now he prays, " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy
countenance upon me," and take the corn and wine
whoso will. Before, his heart's delight and content
were in the world ; then the song was, " Soul, take
thy ease, eat, drink, and be merry ; thou hast much
goods laid up for many years ;" but now all this is
withered, and there is no comeliness, that we should
desire it ; and he tunes up with the sweet Psalmist
of Israel : " The Lord is the portion of my inherit-
ance ; the lines are fallen to me in a fair place, and
I have a goodly heritage." He blesseth himself,
and boasteth himself in God. Nothing else can
give him content. He hath written vanity and vex-
ation upon all his worldly enjoyments, and loss and
dung upon all human excellencies. He hath life
and immortality now in pursuit. He pants for grace
and glory, and hath a crown incorruptible in view.
His heart is set in him to seek the Lord. He first
seeks the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness
thereof, and religion is no longer a matter by the by
with him, but his main care.

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 41

Before, the world had the sway with him ; he
would do more for gain than godliness — more to
please his friend, or his flesh, than the God that
made him ; and God must stand by till the world
was first served. But now all must stand by; he
hates father and mother, and life, and all, in com-
parison of Christ. Well, then, pause a little, and
look within. Doth not this nearly concern thee?
Thou pretendest for Christ, but does not the world
sway thee ? Dost thou not take more real delight
and content in the world than in him ? Dost thou
not find thyself better at ease when the world goes
to thy mind, and thou art compassed with carnal
delights, than when retired to prayer and meditation
in thy closet, or attending upon God's word and
worship? No surer evidence of an unconverted
state, than to have the things of the world upper-
most in our aim, love, and estimation.

With the sound convert, Christ has the suprema-
cy. How dear is his name to him ! How precious
is his favor ! The name of Jesus is engraven on his
heart. Gal. 4 : 19. Honor is but air, and laughter
is but madness, and mammon is fallen like Dagon be-
fore the ark, with hands and head broken ofi" on the
threshold, when once Christ is savingly revealed.
Here is the pearl of great price to the true convert ;
here is his treasure ; here is his hope. This is his
glory, "My beloved is mine, and I am his." 0, it
is sweeter to him to be able to say, Christ is mine.

4Sl ALLEINE'S ALARM.

than if he could say, the kingdom is mine, the
Indies are mine.

4. We turn from our oton righteousness. Before
conversion, man seeks to cover himself with his own
fig-leaves, and to make himself whole with his own
duties. He is apt to trust in himself, and set up
his own righteousness, and to reckon his counters
for gold, and not submit to the righteousness of
God. But conversion changes his mind ; now he
counts his own righteousness as filthy rags. He
casts it off, as a man would the dirty tatters of a
beggar. Now he is brought to poverty of spirit,
complains of and condemns himself, and all his in-
ventory is, " poor, and miserable, and wretched, and
blind, and naked." He sees a world of iniquity in
his holy things, and calls his once-idolized righteous-
ness but filth and loss ; and would not for a thou-
sand worlds be found in it. Now he begins to set
a high price upon Christ's righteousness: he sees
the need of Christ in every duty, to justify his per-
son, and sanctify his performances ; he cannot live
without him ; he cannot pray without him. Christ
must go with him, or else he cannot come into the
presence of God ; he leans upon Christ, and so bows
. himself in the house of his God ; he sets himself
down for a lost undone man without him ; his life is
hid in Christ, as the root of a tree spreads in the
earth for stability and nutriment. Before, the news
of Christ was a stale and tasteless thing; but now,

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION, |Q(

how sweet is Christ. Augustine could not relish his
before so much admired Cicero, because he could not
find in his writings the name of Christ. How em-
phatically cries he, "0 most sweet, most loving,
most kind, most dear, most precious, most desired,
most lovely, most fair!" etc. ^^ Meditat. c. 87, all in
a breath, when he speaks of and to Christ. In a
word, the voice of the convert is with the martyr,
" None but Christ."

VII. The OBJECT TO WHICH we turn in conversion
is, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; whom
the true convert takes as his all-sufficient and eter-
nal blessedness. A man is never truly sanctified
till his very heart be in truth set upon God above
all things, as his portion and chief good. These are
the natural breathings of a believer's heart : " Thou
art my portion." "My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord." " My expectation is from him ; he
only is my rock and my salvation ; he is my defence ;
in God is my salvation and my glory ; the rock of
my strength, and my refuge is in God.'*

Would you put it to an issue whether you be
converted or not ? Now let thy soul and all that is
within thee attend.

Hast thou taken God for thy happiness ? Where
doth the content of thy heart lie ? Whence doth
thy choicest comfort come in? Come, then, and
with Abraham lift up thine eyes eastward, and Avest-
ward, and northward, and southward, and cast about

44 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

thee, what is it that thou wouldst have in heaven or
on earth to make thee happy ? If God should give
thee thy choice, as he did to Solomon, or should say
to thee, as Ahasuerus to Esther, " What is thy pe-
tition, and what is thy request, and it shall be
granted thee?" what^wouldst thou ask? Go into
the gardens of pleasure, and gather all the fragrant
flowers thence : would these content thee ? Go to
the treasures of mammon; suppose thou mightest
lade thyself as thou Avouldst from hence. Go to the
towers, to the trophies of honor ; what thinkest
thou of being a man of renown, and having a
name like the name of the great men of the earth ?
"Would any of these, all these suffice thee, and make
thee count thyself happy ? If so, then certainly
thou art carnal and unconverted. If not, go farther ;
wade into the divine excellences, the store of his
mercies, the hiding of his power, the depths unfath-
omable of his all-sufficiency. Doth this suit thee
best and please thee most ? Dost thou say, " It is
good to be here " — " Here will I pitch, here will I
live and die ?" Wilt thou let all the world go
rather than this ? Then it is well between God and
thee : happy art thou, 0 man — happy art thou that
ever thou wast born. If God can make thee happy,
thou must be happy ; for thou hast avouched the
Lord to be thy God. Dost thou say to Christ as
he to us, " Thy Father shall be my Father, and thy
God my God ?" Here is the turning point ; an un-

THE NATUBE OP CONVERSION. ^

sound professor never takes up*his rest in God, but
converting grace does the work, and so cures the
fatal misery of the fall, by turning the heart from
its idol to the living God. Now says the soul,
" Lord, whither shall I go ? Thou hast the words
of eternal life." Here he centres, here he settles.
It is the entrance of heaven to him ; he sees his
interest in God. When he discovers this, he saith,
" Return unto thy rest, 0 my soul, for the Lord
hath dealt bountifully with thee." And he is even
ready to breathe out Simeon's song, " Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace ;" and saith
with Jacob, when his old heart revived at the wel-
come tidings, "It is enough." When he sees he
hath a God in covenant to go to, " this is all his sal-
vation and all his desire."

Is this thy case ; hast thou experienced this ?
Then, " blessed art thou of the Lord ;" God hath
been at work with thee ; he hath laid hold on thy
heart by the power of converting grace, or else thou
couldst never have done this.

More particularly, in conversion,

1. We turn to Christ, the only Mediator be-
tween God and man. 1 Tim. 2:5. His work is to
bring us to God. 1 Pet. 3:18. He is the way to
the Father, John 14:6, the only plank on which
we may escape, the only door by which we may
enter. John 10:9. Conversion brings over the
soul to Christ to accept him as the only means

46 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

of life, as the only way, the only name given under
heaven. He looks not for salvation in any other
but him ; he throws himself on Christ alone.

" Here," saith the convinced sinner, " I will ven-
ture ; and if I perish, I perish ; if I die, I will die
here. But, Lord, suffer me not to perish under the
eye of thy mercy. Entreat me not to leave thee, or
to return from following after thee." Ruth 1 : 16.
Here I will throw myself ; if thou slay me, I will
not go from thy door.

Thus the poor soul doth venture on Christ and
resolvedly adhere to him. Before conversion, the
man made light of Christ, minded his farm, friends,
merchandise, more than Christ; now, Christ is to
him as his necessary food, his daily bread, the life
of his heart, the staff of his life. His great desire
is, that Christ may be magnified in him. His heart
once said, as they to the spouse, " What is thy be-
loved more than another ?" Cant. 5 : 9. He found
more sweetness in his merry company, wicked games,
earthly delights, than in Christ. He took religion
for a fancy, and the talk of great enjoyments for an
idle dream ; but now " to him to live is Christ."
He sets light by all that he accounted precious, for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.

All of Christ is accepted by the sincere convert :
he loves not only the wages, but the work of Christ ;
not only the benefits, but the burden of Christ;
he is wilUng not only to tread out the corn, but to

THE NATURE OF CONVEKSION. 47

draw under the yoke ; he takes up the commands
of Christ, yea, the crj)ss of Christ.

The unsound closeth by halves with Christ : he is
all for the salvation of Christ, but he is not for sanc-
tification ; he is for the privileges, but appropriates
not the person of Christ ; he divides the offices and
benefits of Christ. This is an error in the founda-
tion. Whoso loveth life, let him beware here ; it is
an undoing mistake, of which you have been often
warned, and yet none is more common. Jesus is a
sweet name ; but men " love not the Lord Jesus in
sincerity." They will not have him as God oflFers,
" to be a Prince and a Saviour." They divide what
God has joined, the king and the priest: yea, they
Avill not accept the salvation of Christ as he intends
it; they divide it here. Every man's vote is for
salvation from suffering ; but they desire not to be
saved from sinning; they would have their lives
saved, but withal would have their lusts. Yea,
many divide here again ; they would be content to
have some of their sins destroyed, but they cannot
leave the lap of Delilah, or divorce the beloved
Herodias : they cannot be cruel to the right eye or
right hand : the Lord must pardon them in this
thing. 0 be carefully scrupulous here : your soul
depends upon it. The sound convert takes a whole
Christ, and takes him for all intents and purposes,
without exceptions, without limitations, without re-
serve. He is willing to have Christ upon any terms ;

48 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

he is willing to have the dominion of Christ, as well
as deliverance by Christ ; he saith, with Paul, " Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do ?" Any thing, Lord.
He sends the blank to Christ, to set down his own
conditions.

2. We turn to the laws, ordinances, and ways of
Christ. The heart that was once set against these,
and could not endure the strictness of these bonds,
the severity of these ways, now falls in with them,
and chooses them as its rule and guide for ever.

Four things, I observe, God doth work in every
sound convert, with reference to the laws and ways
of Christ ; by which you may come to know your
state, if you will be faithful to your own souls ; and,
therefore, keep your eyes upon your hearts as you
go along.

(1.) The judgment is brought to approve of them,
and subscribe to them, as most righteous and most
reasonable. The mind is brought to like the ways
of God ; and the corrupt prejudices that were once
against them, as unreasonable and intolerable, are
now removed. The understanding assents to them
all, as holy, just, and good. Rom. 7:12. How is
David taken up with the excellences of God's laws ;
how doth he expatiate on their praises, both from
their inherent qualities and admirable effects ! Psalm
19: 8, 9, 10, etc.

There is a two-fold judgment of the understand-
ing. The absolute judgment is, when a man thinks

THE NATURE OP CONVERSION. 49

such a course best in the general, but not for him,
or not under his present circumstances. Now, a
godly man's judgment is for the ways of God, and
that not only the absolute, but comparative judg-
ment : he thinks them not only the best in general,
but best for him : he looks upon the rules of religion
not only as tolerable, but desirable ; yea, more de-
sirable than gold, fine gold ; yea, much fine gold.

His judgment is fully determined that it is best to
be holy, that it is best to be strict, that it is in itself
the most eligible course, and that it is for him the
wisest and most rational and desirable choice. Hear
the godly man's judgment : " I know, 0 Lord, that
thy judgments are right ; I love thy commandments
above gold, yea, above fine gold ; I esteem all thy
precepts concerning all things to be right ; and I
hate every false way." Mark, he approves of all
that God requires, and disallows all that he forbids.
"Righteous, O Lord, and upright ai*e thy judgments.
Tliy testimonies that thou hast commanded are
righteous and very faithful. Thy word is true from
the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judg-
ments endureth for ever." See how readily and
fully he subscribes ; he declares his assent and con-
sent to it, and all and every thing therein contained.

(2.) The desire of the heart is to know the whole
mind of Christ. He would not have one sin undis-
covered, nor be ignorant of one duty required. It
is the natural and earnest breathing of a sanctified

AUeinet AUim. 4

so ALLEINE'S ALARM.

heart : "Lord, if there he any way of wickedness in
me, do thou discover it. What I know not, teach
thou me ; and if I have done iniquity, I will do it
no more." The unsound convert is willingly igno-
rant, loves not to come to the light. He is willing
to keep such or such a sin, and therefore is loath to
know it to he a sin, and will not let in the light at
that window. Now, the gracious heart is willing to
know the whole latitude and compass of his Maker's
law. He receives with all acceptation the word
which convinceth him of any duty that he knew not,
or minded not hefore, or which discovereth any sin
that lay hid before.

(3.) The free and resolved choice of the will is
for the ways of Christ, before all the pleasures of
sin and prosperities of the world. His consent is
not extorted by some extremity of anguish, nor is it
only a sudden and hasty resolve, but he is deliber-
ately purposed, and comes freely to the choice.
True, the flesh will rebel, yet the prevailing part of
his will is for Christ's laws and government ; so that
he takes them not up as his toil or burden, but his
bliss. While the unsanctified goes in Christ's ways
as in chains and fetters, he does it heartily, and
counts Christ's laws his liberty. He delights in the
beauties of holiness, and has this inseparable mark,
"That he had rather, if he might have his choice,
live a strict and holy life, than the most prosperous
and flourisliing mere worldly life." " There went

THE NATURE OP CONVERSION. 51

with Saul a band of men whose hearts God had
touched." When God toucheth the hearts of his
chosen, they presently follow Christ, and, though
drawn, do freely run after him, and willingly devote
themselves to the service of the Lord, seeking him
with their whole desire. Fear hath its use ; but
this is not the main-spring of motion with a sancti-
fied heart. Christ keeps not his subjects in by
force, but is King of a willing people. They are,
through his grace, freely devoted to his service;
they serve out of choice, not as slaves, but as the
son or spouse, from a spring of love and a loyal
mind. In a word, the laws of Christ are the con-
vert's love, delight, and continual study.

(4.) The bent of his course is directed to keep
God's statutes. It is the daily care of his life to
walk with God. He seeks great things, he hath
noble designs, though he fall too short. He aims
at nothing less than perfection: he desires it, he
reaches after it ; he would not rest in any degree of
grace, till he were quite rid of sin, and perfected in
holiness.

Here the hypocrite's rottenness may be discov-
ered. He desires holiness, as one well said, only
as a bridge to heaven, and inquires earnestly what
is the least that will serve his turn ; and if he can
get but so much as may bring him to heaven, this is
all he cares for. But the sound convert desires ho-
liness for holiness' sake, and not merely for heaven's

£61 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

sake. He would not be satisfied with so much as
might save him from hell, but desires the highest
degree : yet desires are not enough. What is thy
way and thy course ? Are the drift and scope of
thy life altered ? Is holiness thy pursuit, and' re-
ligion thy business ? If not, thou art short of sound
conversion.

And is this which we have described, the conver-
sion that is of absolute necessity to salvation ?
Then be informed, that strait is the gate and narrow
the way that leadeth unto life — that there are few
that find it — that there is need of a divine power
savingly to convert a sinner to Jesus Christ.

Again, then be exhorted, 0 man, to turn in upon
thine own self. What saith conscience? Doth it
not begin to accuse ? Doth it not pierce thee as
thou goest? Is this thy judgment, and this thy
choice, and this thy way, that we have described ?
If so, then it is well. But doth not thy heart con-
demn thee, and tell thee there is such a sin thou
livest in against thy conscience ? Doth it not tell
thee there is such and such a secret way of wicked-
ness that thou wishest to pursue ; such or such a
duty that thou makest no conscience of ?

Doth not conscience carry thee to thy closet, and
tell thee how seldom prayer and reading are per-
formed there ? Doth it not cany thee to thy fami-
ly, and show thee the charge of God, and the souls

THE NATURE OF CONVERSION. 53

of thy children and servants, that are neglected
there ? Doth not conscience lead thee to thy shop,
thy trade, and tell thee of some iniquity there?
Doth it not carry thee to the dram-shop, or the
resort of idleness, and blame thee for the loose
company thou keepest there, the precious time thou
misspendest there, for the talents which thou wast-
est there, for thy gaming, and thy drinking, etc. ?
Doth it not carry thee into thy secret chamber, and
read there thy condemnation ?

0 conscience ! do thy duty : in the name of the
living God, I command thee, discharge thine office ;
lay hold upon this sinner, fall upon him, arrest him,
apprehend him, undeceive him. What, wilt thou
flatter and soothe him while he lives in his sins ?
Awake, 0 conscience ! what meanest thou, 0 sleeper ?
What, hast thou never a reproof in thy mouth?
What, shall this soul die in his careless neglect of
God ^nd of eternity, and thou altogether hold thy
peace ? What, shall he go on still in his tres-
passes, and yet have peace ? Oh, rouse up thy-
self, and do thy work. ' Now let the preacher in thy
bosom speak : cry aloud, and spare not ; lift up thy
voice like a trumpet : let not the blood of his soul
be required at thy hands.

54 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

CHAPTER III!

THE NECESSITT OF CONVERSION.

It may be you are ready to say, What meaneth
this stir ? and are apt to wonder why I follow you
with such earnestness, still ringing the same lesson
in your ears, that " you should repent, and be con-
verted." But I must say to you, as Ruth to Nao-
mi, "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return
from following after thee." Were it a matter of in-
difference— might you be saved as you are — I would
gladly let you alone ; but would you not have me
solicitous for you, when I see you rea,dy to perish ?
As the Lord liveth, before whom I am, I have not
the least hope to see one of your faces in heaven,
except you be converted. I utterly despair of your
salvation, except you will be prevailed with to turn
thoroughly, and give up yourself to God in holiness
and newness of life. Hath God said, " Except a man
be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,"
John 3:3; and yet do you wonder why your ministers
so earnestly labor for you ? Think it not strange that
I am earnest with you to follow after holiness, and
long to see the image of God upon you. Never
did any, nor shall any, enter into heaven by any
other way but this. The conversion described is not
a high attainment of some advanced Christians, but
every soul that is saved passeth this change.

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 55

It was a saying of the noble Roman, vrlien he was
hasting with corn to the city in the famine, and the
mariners Avere loath to set sail in foul weather, " It is
necessary for us to sail — it is not necessary for us to
live." What is it that thou dost count necessary?
Is thy bread necessary ? Is thy breath necessary ?
Then thy conversion is much more necessaVy. In-
deed, this is the one thing necessary. Thine estate
is not necessary ; thou mayest sell all for the pearl
of great price, and yet be a gainer by the purchase.
Thy life is not necessary ; thou mayest part with it
for Christ, to infinite advantage. Thy reputation is
not necessary ; thou mayest be reproached for the
name of Christ, and yet be happy ; yea, much more
happy in reproach than in repute. But thy conver-
sion is necessary ; thy salvation depends upon it ;
and is it not needful, in so important a case, to look
about thee ? On this one point depends thy making
or marring to all eternity.

But I shall more particularly show the necessity
of conversion in five things ; for without this,

I. Thy being is in vain. Is it not a pity thou
shouldst be good for nothing, an unprofitable burden
of the earth, a wart or wen in the body of the uni-
verse ? Thus thou art, whilst unconverted ; for thou
canst not answer the end of thy being. Is it not
for the divine pleasure that thou art and wast
created ? Did not God make thee for himself? Art
thou a man, and hast thou reason ? Then, bethink

56 ALLEINE'3 ALARM.

thyself why and whence thy being is. Behold God's
workmanship in thy body, and ask thyself, to what
end did God rear this fabric ? Consider the noblfe
faculties of thy heaven-born soul. To what end did
God bestow these excellencies ? Was it to no other
end than that thou shouldst please thyself, and grat-
ify thy senses ? Did God send men into the world,
only like the swallows, to gather a few sticks and
mud, and build their nests, and rear up their young,
and then away ? The very heathen could see farther
than this. Art thou so " fearfully and wonderfully
made," and dost thou not yet think with thyself —
surely, it was for some noble and exalted end ?

0 man ! set thy reason a little in its seat. Is it
not a pity such a goodly fabric should be raised in
vain ? Verily thou art in vain, except thou art for
God : better thou hadst no being, than not be for
him. Wouldst thou serve thy end ? thou must re-
pent and be converted : without this thou art to no
purpose ; yea, to bad purpose.

Thou art to no purpose. Man, unconverted, is
like a choice instrument that hath every string
broken or out of tune. The Spirit of the living God
must repair and time it by the grace of regeneration,
and sweetly move it by the power of actuating grace,
or else thy prayers will be but bowlings, and all
thy ser\'^ices will make no music in the ears of the
Most Holy. All thy powers and faculties are so
corrupt in thy natural state, that, except thou be

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 57

purged from dead works, thou canst not serve the
living God. An unsanctified man cannot work the
work of God.

1. He hath no skill in it ; he is altogether as un-
skilful in the work as in the word of righteousness.
There are great mysteries in the practice as well as
in the principles of godliness. Now the unregene-
rate know not " the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven." You may as well expect him that never
learned the alphabet to read, or look for gogdly
music on the lute from one that never set his hand
to an instrument, as that a natural man should do
the Lord any pleasing service. He must first be
taught of God, taught to pray, taught to profit,
taught to go, or else he will be utterly at a loss.

2. He hath no strength for it. How weak is his
heart ! he is presently tired. The Sabbath, what a
weariness is it ! He is without strength, yea, dead
in sin.

3. He hath no mind to it ; he desires not the
knowledge of God's ways ; he doth not know them,
and he doth not care to know them ; he knows not,
neither will he understand.

4. He hath neither due instruments nor materials
for it. A man may as well hew the marble without
tools, or paint without colors or instruments, or build
without materials, as perform any acceptable service
without the graces of the Spirit, which are both the
materials and instruments in the work. Almsgiving

58 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

is not a service of God, but of vain-glory, if it spring
not from divine love. What is the prayer of the
lips without grace in the heart, but the carcass
without the life ? What are all our confessions, un-
less they be exercises of godly sorrow and unfeigned
repentance? What our petitions, unless animated
with holy desires and faith in the divine attributes
and promises ? What our praises and thanksgivings,
unless from the love of God, and a holy gratitude
and, sense of God's mercies in the heart ? So that
a man may as well expect that trees should speak,
or look for motion from the dead, as look for any
service, holy and acceptable to God, from the un-
converted. When the tree is evil, how can the fruit
be good ?

Also, without conversion you live to had purpose.
The unconverted soul is a very cage of unclean birds,
a sepulchre full of corruption and rottenness. 0
dreadful case ! Dost thou not yet see a change to
be needful ? Would it not have grieved one to see
the golden consecrated vessels of God's temple
turned into quaffing bowls of drunkenness, and pol-
luted with the idol's service ? Was it such an abom-
ination to the Jews, when Antiochus set up the
picture of a swine at the entrance of the temple ?
How much more abominable, then, would it have
been to have had the very temple itself turned into
a stable or a sty ; and to have had the " holy of
holies" served like the house of Baal ! This is the

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 59

very case of the unregenerate : all thy members are
turned into instruments of unrighteousness, servants
of Satan ; and thy inmost heart into a receptacle of
uncleanness. You may see what kind of guests
are within, by what comes out; for, "out of the
heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies,"
etc. This black troop discovers what a hell there
is within.

0 abuse insufferable! to see a heaven-born soul
abased to such vileness ; to see the glory of God's
creation, the chief of the works of God, the lord of
this lower world, eating husks with the prodigal !
Was it such a lamentation to see those that did feed
delicately sit desolate in the streets ; and the pre-
cious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, esteemed
as earthen pitchers ; and those that were clothed in
scarlet embrace dunghills ? Lam. 4 : 2, 5. And is
it not much more fearful to see the only being that
hath immortality in this lower world, and carries the
stamp of God, become as a vessel wherein is no
pleasure, and be put to the most sordid use? 0
indignity intolerable ! Better thou wert dashed in
a thousand pieces, than continue to be abased to so
vile a service.

II. Not only man, but the whole visible crea-
tion, is in vain without this. God hath made all
the visible creatures in heaven and earth for the
service of man, and man only is the spokesman for

60 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

all the rest. Man is, in the Avorld, like the tongue
to the body, which speaks for all the members. The
other creatures cannot praise their Maker, but by
dumb signs and hints to man that he should speak
for them. Man is, as it were, the high-priest of
God's creation, to offer the sacrifice of praise for all
his fellow- creatures. The Lord God expecteth a
tribute of praise from all his works. Now, all the
rest do bring in their tribute to man, and pay it by
his hand. So then, if a man be false, and faithless,
and selfish, God is wronged of all, and has no active
glory from his works.

0 dreadful thought ! that God should build such
a world as this, and lay out such infinite power, and
wisdom, and goodness thereupon, and all in vain ;
and that man should be guilty, at last, of robbing
and spoiling him of the glory of all ! 0 think of
this. While thou art unconverted, all the offices of
the creatures are in vain to thee ; thy meat nourishes
thee in vain ; the sun holds forth his light to thee in
vain ; the stars that serve thee in their courses by
their powerful, though hidden influence, do it in
vain ; thy clothes warm thee in vain; thy beast car-
ries thee in vain ; in a word, the unwearied labor
and continued travail of the whole creation, as to
thee, are in vain. The service of all the creatures
that drudge for thee, and yield forth their strength
unto thee, that therewith thou shouldest serv^e their
Maker, is all but lost labor. Hence, "the whole

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 61

creation groaneth," Rom. 8 : 22, under the abuse
of men unsanctified, who pervert all things to the
service of their lusts, quite contrary to the very end
of their being.

III. Without this, tht religion is vain ; all thy
religious performances will be but lost ; for they can
neither please God nor save thy soul, which are the
very ends of religion. Be thy services ever so spe-
cious, yet God hath no pleasure in them. Is not
that man's case dreadful whose sacrifices are as
murders, and whose prayers are a breath of abomi-
nation ? Many, under convictions, think they will
set upon mending, and that a few prayers and alms
will set all right again ; but alas, sirs, while your
hearts remain unsanctified your duties will not pass.
How punctual was Jehu! and yet all was rejected
because his heart was not upright. How blameless
was Paul ! and yet, being unconverted, all was but
loss. Men think they do much in attending God's
service, and are ready to set him down so much
their debtor ; whereas their persons being unsancti-
fied, their duties cannot be accepted.

O soul ! do not think, when thy sins pursue
thee, that a little praying and reforming thy course
will pacify God. Thou must begin with thine
heart. If that be not renewed, thou canst no more
please God than one who, having unspeakably
offended thee, should bring thee the most loathsome
thing to pacify thee ; or having fallen into the mire,

m ALLEINE'S ALARM.

should think with his filthy embraces to reconcile
thee.

It is a great misery to labor in the fire. The
poets could not invent a worse hell for Sisyphus
than to be ever toiling to get the stone up the hill,
and then that it should presently roll down again
and renew his labor. God threatens it as the great-
est of temporal judgments, that they should build
and not inhabit, plant and not gather, and that their
labors should be eaten up by strangers. Is it so
great a misery to lose our common labors, to sow in
vain, and to build in vain ? how much more to lose
our pains in religion — to pray, and hear, and fast in
vain ! This is an undoing and eternal loss. Be not
deceived ; if thou goest on in thy sinful state, though
thou shouldst spread forth thy hands, God will hide
his eyes ; though thou make many prayers, he will
not hear. If a man without skill set about our
work, and spoil it in the doing, though he take much
pains, we give him but small thanks. God will be
Avorshipped after the due order. If a servant do
our work, but quite contrary to our order, he shall
have rather stripes than praise. God's work must
be done according to God's mind, or he will not be
pleased ; and this cannot be, except it be done with
a holy heart.

IV. Without true conversion, thy hopes are in
vain. " The hope of the hypocrite shall perish."
" The Lord hath rejected thy confidences."

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 63

1. The hope of comfort here is vain. It is not
only necessary to the safety, but comfort of your
condition, that you be converted. Without this,
you " shall not know peace." Without the " fear
of God " you cannot have the "comfort of the Holy
Ghost." God speaks peace only to his people and
to his saints. If you have a false peace, continuing
in your sins, it is not of God's speaking, and then
you may guess the author. Sin is a real sickness,
yea, the worst of sickness ; it is a leprosy in the
head, the plague of the heart ; it is rottenness in the
bones ; it pierceth, it woundeth, it racketh, it tor-
menteth. A man may as well expect ease when his
diseases are in their full strength, or his bones out
of joint, as true comfort while in his sins.

0 wretched man, that canst have no ease in this
case but what comes from the deadliness of the dis-
ease ! You shall hear the poor sick man saying, in
his wildness, he is well, when you see death in his
face : he would be up and about his business, when
the very next step is likely to be to his grave. The
unsanctified often see nothing amiss ; they think
themselves whole, and cry not for the physician ;
but this only shows the danger of their case.

Sin doth naturally breed distempers and disturb-
ances in the soul. What a continual tempest is
there in a discontented mind ; what a corroding evil
is inordinate care ! What is passion but a very fever
in the mind ; what is lust but a fire in the bones ;

64 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

what is pride but a deadly dropsy ; or covetousness,
but an insatiable and insufferable thirst; or malice
and envy, but venom in the very heart ? Spiritual
sloth is but a scurvy in the mind, and carnal security
a mortal lethargy ; and how can that soul have true
comfort which is under so many diseases? But
converting grace cures, and so eases the mind, and
prepares the soul for a settled, standing, immortal
peace. " Great peace have they that love thy law,
and nothing shall offend them." They are the ways
of wisdom that afford pleasure and peace. David
had infinitely more pleasure in the word than in all
the delights of his court. The conscience cannot be
truly pacified till soundly purified. Cursed is that
peace which is maintained in a way of sin. Two
sorts of peace are more to be dreaded than all the
troubles in the world ; peace with sin, and peace in
sin.

2. Thy hopes of salvation hereafter are in vain ;
yea, worse than in vain ; they are most injurious to
God, most pernicious to thyself. There is death,
desperation, and blasphemy in this hope.

(l.y There is death in it. Thy confidence shall be
rooted out of thy tabernacles, God will up with it
root and branch ; it shall bring thee to the king of
terrors. Though thou may est lean upon this house,
it will not stand, but will prove like a ruinous build-
ing, which, when a man trusts to it, falls down about
him.

THE NECESSITY OP CONVERSION. 65

(2.) There is desperation in it : " Where is the hope
of the hypocrite when God takes away his soul ?"
Then there is an end for ever of his hope. Indeed,
the hope of the righteous hath an end ; but it is not
a destructive, but a perfective end ; his hope ends
in fruition, others in frustration. The godly may
say at death, "It is finished;" but the wicked, "It
is perished," and in too sad earnest bemoan himself,
as Job, in a mistake, "Where is now my hope?
He hath destroyed me ; I am gone, and my hope is
removed hke a tree." "The righteous hath hope
in his death." When nature is dying, his hopes are
living ; when his body is languishing, his hopes are
flourishmg ; his hope is a living hope, but others' a
dying, yea, a damning, soul-undoing hope : " When
a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish ;
and the hope of unjust men perisheth." It shall be
cut off and prove like a " spider's web," which he
spins out of his own bowels ; but then comes death
and destroys all, and so there is an eternal end of
his confidence wherein he trusted ; for " the eyes of
the wicked shall fail, and their hope shall be as the
giving up of the ghost." Wicked men are fixed in
their carnal hope, and will not be beaten out of it ;
they hold it fast ; they will not let it go ; but death
will knock off their fingers. Though we cannot un-
deceive them, death and judgment will. When
death strikes his dart through thy hver, it will ruin
thy soul and thy hopes together. The imsanctified.

AUeiiM>i Alarm. O

66 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

have hope only in this Hfe, and therefore are " of all
men most miserable." When death comes, it lets
them out into the amazing gulf of endless despe-
ration.

(3.) There is blasphemy in it. To hope we shall
be saved, though continuing unconverted, is to hope
that we shall prove God a liar. He hath told you,
that, merciful and pitiful as he is, he will never save
you notwithstanding, if you go on in ignorance, or a
course of unrighteousness. In a word, he has told
you that, whatever you be or do, nothing shall avaiJ
you to salvation unless you become new creatures
Now, to say God is merciful, and we hope that he
will save us, without conversion, is in effect to say,
" We hope that God will not do as he says." We
must not set God's attributes at variance ; God has
resolved to glorify his mercy, but not to the preju-
dice of his truth, as the presumptuous sinner will
find to his everlasting sorrow.

Objection, But we hope in Jesus Christ ; we put
our whole trust in God; and therefore doubt not
but we shall be saved.

Answer 1. This is not hope in Christ, but against
Christ. To hope to see the kingdom of God with-
out being bom again ; to hope to find eternal life in
the broad way, is to hope Christ will prove a false
prophet. David's plea is, " I hope in thy word."
But this hope is against God's word. Show me a
word of Christ for thy hope that he will save thee

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 67

in thine ignorance or profane neglect of his service,
and I will never try to shake thy confidence.

2. God doth with abhorrence reject this hope.
Those condemned in the prophet, went on in their
sins ; yet, saith the prophet, " will they lean upon
the Lord." Micah 3:11. God will not endure to
be made a prop to men in their sins. The Lord re-
jected those presumptuous sinners that went on still
in their trespasses and yet would stay themselves
upon Israel's God, as a man would shake off the
briers that cleave to his garment.

3. If thy hope be any thing worth, it will purify
thee from thy sins, 1 John, 3:3; but cursed is
that hope which cherishes men in their sins.

Objection. Would you have us despair ?

Answer. You must despair of ever coming to
heaven as you are, that is, while you remain uncon-
verted. You must despair of ever seeing the face
of God without holiness ; but you must by no
means despair of finding mercy upon your thorough
repentance and conversion ; neither may you despair
of attaining to repentance and conversion, in the \ise
of God's means.

V. Without conversion, all that Christ hath
DONE AND SUFFERED will be, as to you, in vain ;
that is, it will no way avail you to salvation. Many
urge this as a sufficient ground for their hope, that
Christ died for sinners ; but I must tell you, Christ
never died to save impenitent and unconverted sin-

ALLEINE'S ALARM.

ners, so continuing. A great divine was wont, in.
his private dealings with souls, to ask two questions :
1. What hath Christ done for you? 2. What hath
Christ wrought in you? Without the application
of the Spirit in regeneration, we have no saving
interest in the benefits of redemption. I tell you
from the Lord, that Christ himself cannot save you
if you go on in this state.

1. It were against his trust. The Mediator is the
servant of the Father, shows his commission from
him, acts in his name, and pleads his command for
his justification ; and God has committed all things
to him, intrusted his own glory and the salvation of
the elect with him. Accordingly, Christ gives his
Father an account of both parts of his trust before
he leaves the world. Now Christ would quite cross
his Father's glory, tarnish his greatest trust, if he'
should save men in their sins ; for this were to over-
turn all his counsels, and to offer violence to all his
attributes.

(1.) To overturn all his counsels ; of which this
is the order, that men should be brought through
sanctification to salvation. He hath chosen them,
that they should be holy. They are elected to par-
don and life through sanctification. If thou canst
repeal the law of God's immutable counsel, or cor-
rupt him whom the Father hath sealed, to go di-
rectly against his commission, then, and not other-
wise, mayst thou get to heaven in this condition.

THE NECESSITY OP CONVERSION. 69

To hope that Christ -will save thee while unconverted,
is to hope that Christ will falsify his trust. He
never did, nor ever will save one soul but whom the
Father hath given him in election, and drawn to him
in effectual calhng. Be assured, Christ will save
none in a way contrary to his Father's will.

(•2.) To save men in their sins would offer violence
to all the attributes of God.

To his justice ; for the righteousness of God's
judgment hes in rendering to all according to their
works. Now, should men sow to the flesh, and yet
of the Spirit reap everlasting life, where were the
glory of divine justice, since it would be given to the
wicked according to the work of the righteous ?

To his holiness. If God should not only save
sinners, but save them in their sins, his most pure
and strict holiness would be exceedingly defaced.
The unsanctified are, in the eyes of God's holiness,
exceedingly vile and hateful. It would be offering
the extremest violence to the infinite purity of the
divine nature to have such dwell with him. " They
cannot stand in his judgment: they cannot abide
his presence." If holy David would not endure
such in his house, no, nor in his sight, can we think
God will ? Should he take men as they are, from
the mire of their filthiness to the glory of heaven,
the world would think that God was at no such
great distance from sin, nor had any such dislike to
it as we are told he hath ; they would be ready to

70 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

conclude that God vras altogether such a one as
themselves, as some of old wickedly did, from the
very forbearance of God.

To his veracity. For God hath declared from
heaven, that " if any shall say he shall have peace,
though he should go on in the imagination of his
heart, his vrrath shall smoke against that man ;"
that "they" only "that confess and forsake their
sins shall find mercy ;" that "they that shall enter
into his hill must be of clean hands and a pure
heart." Deut. 29 : 19, 20; Prov. 28 : 13; Psalms
24 : 3, 4. Where were God's truth, if, notwith-
standing all this, he should bring men to salvation
without conversion ? 0 desperate sinner, that darest
to hope that Christ will make his Father a liar, and
nullify his word to save thee !

To his wisdom. For this were to throw away the
choicest of mercies on them that would not value
them, nor were any way suited to them.

They would not value them. The unsanctified
sinner puts but little price upon God's great salva-
tion. He sets no more by Christ than the whole by
the physician. He prizes not his balm, values not
his cure, but tramples upon his blood. Now, would
it stand with wisdom to force pardon and life upon
those that would return no thanks for them ? Will
the all- wise God, when he hath forbidden us to do
it, throw his holy things to dogs, and his pearls to
swine, that would, as it were, but turn again and

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 71

rend him ? This would make mercy to be despised
indeed. Wisdom requires that hfe be given in a
way suitable to God's honor, and that God provide
for the securing of his own glory as well as man's
felicity. It would be dishonorable to God to bestow
his choicest riches on them that have more pleasure
in their sins than in heavenly delights. God would
lose the praise and glory of his grace, if he should
cast it away upon them that were not only unworthy,
but unwilling.

Also, the mercies of God are no way suited to
the unconverted. The divine wisdom is seen in
suiting things to each other, the means to the end,
the object to the faculty, the quality of the gift to
the capacity of the receiver. Now, if Christ should
bring the unregenerated sinner to heaven, he could
take no more felicity there than a beast would, if
you should bring him into a beautiful room, to the
society of learned men ; whereas the poor thing had
much rather be grazing with his fellow-brutes.
Alas, what could an unsanctified creature do in
heaven? he could not be contented there, because
nothing suits him. The place doth not suit him ;
he would be quite out of his element, a fish out of
water. The company doth not suit him : what com-
munion hath darkness with light ; corruption with
perfection ; vileness and sin with glory and immor-
tality ? The employment doth not suit him ; the
anthems of heaven fit not his mouth, suit not his

72 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

ear. Canst thou ctarm thy beast with music ; or
wilt thou bring him to thy organ and expect that
he should make thee melody, or keep time with the
tuneful choir? Had he skill, he would have no
will, and so could find no pleasure in it. Spread
thy table with delicacies before a languishing pa-
tient, and it will be but an oflfence. Alas, if the
poor man say of a Sabbath-day, " What a weariness
is it !" how miserable would he think it to be en-
gaged in an everlasting Sabbath !

To his immutability, or else to his omniscience or
omnipotence ; for this is enacted in heaven, and en-
rolled in the decree of the court above, that none
but the " pure in heart shall see God ;" this is laid
up with him, and sealed among his treasures. Now,
if Christ bring any to heaven unconverted, either he
must get them in without his Father's knowledge,
and then where is his omniscience ? or against his
will, and then where were his omnipotence ? or he
must change his will, and then' where were his im-
mutability ?

Sinner, wilt thou not give up thy vain hope of
being saved in this condition ? Saith Bildad, " Shall
the earth be forsaken for thee ; or the rocks be
moved out of their place ?" May I not much more
reason so with thee ? Shall the laws of heaven be
reversed for thee? Shall the everlasting founda-
tions be overturned for thee ? Shall Christ put out
the eye of his Father's omniscience, or shorten the

THE NECESSITY OP CONVERSION, 73

arm of his eternal power for thee ? Shall divine
justice be violated for thee ; or the brightness of his
holiness be blemished for thee? 0 the impossi-
bility, absurdity, blasphemy, of such a confidence !
To think Christ will ever save thee in this condition,
is to make the Saviour become a sinner, and do more
wrong to the infinite Majesty than all the wicked on
earth or devils in hell ever did, or ever could do ;
and yet wilt thou not give up such a blasphemous
hope ?

2. To save men in their sins were against the word
of Christ. "We need not say, "Who shall ascend
into heaven, to bring down Christ from above ? Or,
who shall descend into the deep, to bring up Christ
from beneath ? The word is nigh us." Are you
agreed that Christ shall end the controversy ? Hear
then his own words : " Except ye be converted, ye
shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."
" You must be born again." " If I wash thee not,
thou hast no part in me." " Repent or perish."
One word, one would think, were enough from
Christ ; but how often and earnestly doth he reite-
rate it: "Verily, verily, except a man be bom
again, he shall not see the kingdom of God." Yea,
he doth not only assert but prove the necessity of
the new birth, from the fleshliness and sinfulness of
man from his first birth, by reason of which man
is no more fit for heaven than the beast is for the
chamber of the king. And wilt thou yet rest in thy

74 ALLEINE'S AtARM.

own presumptuous confidence, directly against
Christ's words ? He must go quite against the
law of his kingdom, and rule of his judgment, to
save thee in this state.

3. It would be against the oath of Christ. He
hath lifted up his hand to heaven, he hath sworn
that those who remain in unbelief and know not his
ways — that is, are ignorant of them, or disobedient
to them — shall not enter into his rest. And wilt
thou not yet believe, 0 sinner, that he is in earnest ?
Canst thou hope he will be forsworn for thee ? The
covenant of grace is confirmed by an oath and sealed
by blood ; but all must be made void, and another
way to heaven found out, if thou be saved, living
and dying unsanctified. God is come to his last
terms with man, and has condescended as far as in
honor he could. Men cannot be saved while uncon-
verted, except they could get another covenant
made, and the whole frame of the Gospel, which
was established for ever with such dreadful solem-
nities, quite altered. And must not thev be dis-
tracted, to hope that they shall ?

4. It would be against his honor. God will so
show his love to the sinner, as withal to show his
hatred to sin ; therefore, he that names the name of
Jesus must " depart from iniquity and deny all un-
godliness ;" and he that hath hope of life by Christ
must " purify himself as he is pure," otherwise
Christ would be thought a favorer of sin. The

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 75

Lord Jesus would have all the world know, that
though he pardons sin, he will not protect it. If
holy David say, " Depart from me, all ye workers
of iniquity," Psa. 6 : 8, and shut the doors against
them, Psa. 101 : 7, shall not such more expect it
from Christ's holiness ?

5. It would be against his offices. " God hath
exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour," He
would act against both, should he save men in their
sins. It is the office of a king to be " a terror to
evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well." " He
is a minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath
on him that doeth evil." Kow, should Christ favor
the ungodly, so continuing, and take those to reign
with him that would not that he should reign over
them, this would be quite against his office ; he
therefore reigns that he may " put his enemies under
his feet." Now, should he lay them in his bosom,
he would frustrate the end of his regal power ; it
belongs to Christ, as a King, to subdue the hearts
and slay the lusts of his chosen. What king would
take rebels in open hostility into his court ? What
were this but to betray life, kingdom, government,
and all together ? If Christ be a Kingr, he must
have honor, homage, subjection. Now, to save men
while in their natural enmity, were to obscure his
dignity, lose his authority, bring contempt on his
government, and sell his dear-bought rights for
naught.

76 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

Again, as Christ would not be a Prince, so neither
a Saviour, if he should do this ; for his salvation is
spiritual. He is called Jesus, because he saves his
people from their sins. Matt. 1 : 21. So that, should
he save them in their sins, he would be neither Lord
nor Jesus. To save men from the punishment, and
not from the power of sin, were to do his work by
halves, and be an imperfect Saviour. His office as
the Deliverer, is "to turn away ungodliness from
Jacob." " He is sent to bless men, in turning them
from their iniquities," "To make an end of sin."
So that he would destroy his own designs, and nul-
lify his offices, to save men abiding in their uncon-
verted state.

Arise, then ! What meanest thou, 0 sleeper ?
Awake, 0 secure sinner, lest thou be consumed in
thine iniquities : say, as the lepers, "If we sit here,
we shall die." Verily, it is not more certain that
thou art now out of hell, than that thou shalt
speedily be in it, except thou repent and be con-
verted : there is but this one door for thee to escape
by. Arise then, 0 sluggard, and shake off thine
excuses : how long wilt thou slumber, and fold thy
hands to sleep ? Wilt thou lie down in the midst
of the sea, or sleep on the top of a mast ? There is
no remedy, but thou must either turn or burn.
There is an unchangeable necessity of the change of
thy condition, except thou hast resolved to abide the

THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. 77

worst of it, and try it out with the Almighty. If
thou lovest thy life, 0 man, arise and come away.
Methinks I see the Lord Jesus laying the merciful
hands of a holy violence upon thee ; methinks he
acts hke the angels to Lot : " Then the angels hast-
ened Lot, saying. Arise, lest thou be consumed.
And, while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his
hand, the Lord being merciful unto him ; and they
brought him without the city, and said. Escape for
thy life, stay not in all the plain ; escape to the
mountains, lest thou be consumed."

O how wilful will thy destruction be if thou
shouldst yet harden thyself in thy sinful state ! But
none of you can say that you have not had fair
warning. Yet methinks I cannot leave you so. It
is not enojigh for me to have dehvered my own soul.
What, shall I go away without my errand ? Will
none of you arise and follow me ? Have I been all
this while speaking to the wind ; have I been
charming the deaf adder, or allaying the restless
ocean with argument ? Do I speak to the trees and
rocks, or to men ; to the tombs and monuments of
the dead, or to the living ? If you be men, and not
senseless stocks, stop and consider whither you are
going ; if you have the reason and understanding of
men, dare not to run into the flames, and fall into
hell with your eyes open ; but bethink yoxirselves,
and set to the work of repentance. What, men,
and yet run into the pit, when the very beasts will

78 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

not be forced in ? What, endowed with reason, and
yet trifle with death and hell, and the vengeance of
the Almighty ? Are men herein only distinguished
from very brutes, that these, having no foresight,
have no care to provide for the things to come ;
and will you, who are warned, not hasten your es-
cape from eternal torments? O show yourselves
men, and let reason prevail with you.

Is it a reasonable thing for you to contend against
the Lord your Maker, or " to harden yoiirselves
against his word," Job 9 : 4, as though the Strength
of Israel would lie ? Is it reasonable that an un-
derstanding creature should lose, yea, live quite
against the very end of his being ? Is it reasonable
that the only being in this world that God hath
made capable of knowing his will and bringing him
glory, should yet live in ignorance of his Maker,
and be unserviceable to his use, yea, should be en-
gaged against him, and resist his Creator ? "Hear,
O heavens, and give ear, O earth," and let the
creatures without sense judge if this be reason, that
man, whom God hath " nourished and brought up,
should rebel against him?" Judge in your own
selves. Is it a reasonable undertaking for briers and
thorns to set themselves in battle against the devour-
ing fire ; or for the potsherd of the earth to strive
with its Maker ? You will say, " This is not reason ;"
or surely the eye of reason is quite put out. And,
if this be not reason, then there is no reason that

THE NECESSITY OP CONVERSION. 79

you should continue as you are, but there is all the
reason in the world that you should forthwith turn
and repent.

What shall I say ? I could spend myself in this
argument. O that you would but hearken to me ;
that you would now set upon a new course ! Will
you not be made clean ? When shall it once be ?
Reader, wilt thou sit down and consider the fore-
mentioned argument, and debate it, whether it be
not best to turn ? Come, and let us reason together :
Is it good for thee to be here ? Wilt thou sit till
the tide come in upon thee ? Is it good for thee to
try whether God will be as good as his word, and
to harden thyself in a conceit that all is well with
thee while thou remainest unsanctified ?

Alas, for such sinners ! must they perish at last
by hundreds ? What course shall I use with them
that I have not tried ? " What shall I do for the
daughter of my people ?" 0 Lord God, help. Alas,
shall I leave them thus ? If they will not hear me,
yet do thou hear me. 0 that they may yet live in
thy sight ! Lord, save them, or they perish. My
heart would melt to see their houses on fire when
they were fast asleep in their beds ; and shall not
my soul be moved within me to see them falling
into endless perdition ? Lord, have compassion, and
save them out of the burning : put forth thy divine
power, and the work will be done.

80 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

CHAPTER IV.

THE MARKS OF THE UNCONVERTED.

While we keep aloof in generals there is little
fruit to' be expected ; it is the hand-fight that does
execution. David is not avrakened by the prophet's
hovering at a distance in parabolical insinuations.
He is forced to close with him, and tell him plainly,
" Thou art the man." Few will, in words, deny
the necessity of the new birth ; but they have a
self-deluding confidence that the work is not now to
do. And because they know themselves free from
that gross hypocrisy which takes up religion merely
for a color to deceive others, and for covering wicked
designs, they are confident of their sincerity, and
suspect not that more close hypocrisy, wherein the
greatest danger lies, by which a man deceiveth his
own soul. But man's deceitful heart is such a
matchless cheat, and self-delusion so reigning and
so fatal a disease, that I know not whether be the
greater, the difficulty or the necessity of the unde-
ceiving work that I am now upon. Alas for the
unconverted ! they must be undeceived, or they will
be undone. But how shall this be effected ?

Help, O all-searching Light, and let thy discern-
ing eye discover the rotten foundation of the self-
deceiver ; and lead me, O Lord God, as thou didst
the prophet, into the chambers of imagery, and dig

THE MARKS OP THE UNCONVERTED. 81

through the wall of sinners' hearts, and discover
the hidden abominations that are lurking out of
sight in the dark. O send thy angel before me to
open the sundry wards of their hearts, as thou didst
before Peter, and make even the iron gates fly open
of their own accord. And as Jonathan no sooner
tasted the honey but his eyes were enlightened, so
grant, 0 Lord, that when the poor deceived souls
with whom I have to do shall cast their eyes upon
these lines, their minds may be illuminated, and
their consciences convinced and awakened, that they
may see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and be converted, and thou mayest heal them.

This must be premised before we proceed, that it
is most certain men may have a confident persuasion
that their hearts and states are good, while yet they
are unsound. Hear the Truth himself, who shows,
in Laodicea's case, that men may be wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, and yet not
know it ; yea, they may be confident they are rich,
and increased in grace. Rev. 3:17. " There is a
generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet
are not washed from their filthiness." Prov. 30 : 12.
Who better persuaded of his fate than Paul, while he
yet remained imconverted ? Rom. Y : 9. So that they
are miserably deceived who take a strong confidence
for a sufiicient evidence. They that have no better
proof than barely a strong persuasion that they are
converted, are certainly as yet strangers to conversion,

AUfiiM^ Alum. g

83 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

But to come more close. As it was said to the
adherents of Antichrist, so here ; some of the un-
converted carry their marks in their forehead more
openly, and some in their hands more covertly.
The apostle reckons up some upon whom he writes
the sentence of death; as in these dreadful cata-
logues, which I beseech you to attend to with all
diligence : " For this ye know, that no whoremon-
ger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is
an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with
vain words ; for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."
Eph. 5:5,6. " But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake that burns with fire and brim-
stone, which is the second death." Rev. 21:8.
" Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God ? Be not deceived : neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effemi-
nate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Cor. 6 : 9, 10. Woe to them that have their name
written in this catalogue. Such may know, as cer-
tainly as if God had told them from heaven, that
they are unsanctified, and under an impossibility of
being saved in this condition.

THE MARKS OF THE UNCONVERTED. 83

There are then these several classes that, past all
dispute, are unconverted ; they carry their marks
in their foreheads.

1. The unclean. These are ever reckoned among
the goats, and have their names, whoever is left out,
in all the forementioned catalogues.

2. The covetous. These are ever branded for
idolaters, and the doors of the kingdom are shut
against them by name.

3. Drunkards. Not only such as drink away
their reason, but withal, yea, above all, such as are
too strong for strong drink. The Lord fills his
mouth with woes against these, and declares them
to have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Isa.
5:11, 12, 22; Gal. 5: 21.

4. Liars. The God that cannot lie has told them
that there is no place for them in his kingdom, no
entrance into his hill ; but their portion is with the
father of lies, whose children they are, in the lake
of burnings. Rev. 21:8, 27.

6. Swearers. The end of these, without deep
and speedy repentance, is swift destruction, and
most certain and unavoidable condemnation. James
5:12.

6. Railers and backbiters, that love to take up a
reproach against their neighbor, and revile him to his
face, or else wound him secretly behind his back.
Psalm 15 : 1, 3.

7. Thieves, extortioners, oppressors, that grind

84 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

the poor, or overreach their brethren when they
have an opportunity : these must know that God
"is the avenger of all such." Hear, 0 ye false and
purloining and wasteful servants ; hear, 0 ye de-
ceitful tradesmen, hear your sentence ! God will
certainly shut his door against you, and turn your
treasures of unrighteousness into the treasures of
wrath, and make your ill-gotten silver and gold to
torment you, like burning metal in your bowels.

8. All that do ordinarily live in the profane neg-
lect of God's worship, that hear not his word, that
call not on his name, that restrain prayer before
God, that mind not their own nor their families'
souls, but "live without God in the world."

9. Those that are frequenters and lovers of vain
company. God hath declared, he will be the de-
stroyer of all such, and that they shall never enter
into the hill of his rest. Pro v. 9 : 6, and 13 : 20.

10. Scoffers at religion, that make a scorn of pre-
cise walking, and mock at the messengers and dili-
gent servants of the Lord, and at their holy pro-
fession, and make themselves merry with the weak-
ness and failings of professors : " Hear, ye despisers,"
hear your dreadfid doom ! Prov. 19 : 29, and 3 : 34.

Sinner, consider diligently whether thou art not
to be found in one of these ranks ; for if this be thy
case, thou art in the " gall of bitterness and bond
of iniquity ;" for all these do carry their marks in
their foreheads, and are undoubtedly the sons of

THE MARKS OP THE UNCONVERTED. 85

death. And if so, the Lord pity our poor congre-
gations. 0 how small a number will remain, when
these ten sorts are left out. May God show you
your danger, and constrain you to cry, "Lord, have
mercy upon us !"

Sirs, what shift do you make to keep up your
confidence of your good state, when God from
heaven declares against you, and pronounces you in
a state of damnation ? I would reason with you as
God with them, " How canst thou say, I am not
polluted ? See thy way in the valley ; know what
thou hast done." Man, is not thy conscience privy
to thy tricks of deceit, to thy secret sins, to thy way
of lying ? Yea, are not thy friends, thy family, thy
neighbors, witnesses to thy profane neglect of God's
worship, to thy covetous practices, to thy envious
and mahcious carriage ? May they not point at thee
as thou goest. There goes a gaming prodigal ; there
goes a drunken Nabal, a companion of evil-doers ;
there goes a railer, or a scoffer, or a licentious per-
son ? Beloved, God hath written it as with a sun-
beam, in the book by which you must be judged,
that these are not the spots of his children, and that
none such, except renewed by converting grace,
shall ever escape the damnation of hell.

0 that you would now be persuaded to " repent
and turn from all your transgressions, or else iniquity
will be your ruin." Alas, for poor hardened sin-
ners. Must I leave you at last where you are?

86 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

However, you must kno-w that you have been ■warned,
and that I am clear of your blood ; and whether
men will hear, or whether they will forbear, I will
leave these Scriptures with them, which will prove
either as thunderbolts to awaken them, or as searing-
irons to harden them. " God shall Avound the head
of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one
as goeth on still in his trespasses." " He that, being
often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly
be destroyed, and that without remedy." "Be-
cause I have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched
out my hand, and no man regarded, etc. I will
laugh at your calamity — when your destruction
cometh as a whirlwind."

And now I imagine many will begin to bless them-
selves, and think all is well, because they cannot be
reproached with these grosser evils ; but I must tell
you that there is another sort of unsanctified per-
sons, that carry not their mark in their foreheads,
but more secretly and covertly. These do frequent-
ly deceive themselves and others, and pass for good
Christians, when they are all the while unsoimd at
heart. Many pass undiscovered, till death and judg-
ment bring all to light. Those self- deceivers seem
to come even to heaven's gate with confidence of
their admission, and yet are turned off at last. I
beseech you deeply to lay to heart and firmly retain
this awakening consideration, that multitudes mis-

THE MARKS OP THE UNCONVERTED. 87

carry hy the hand of some secret sin, that is not only
hidden from others, but for want of observing their
own hearts, even from themselves. A man may be
free from open pollutions, and yet die at last by the
fatal hand of some unobserved iniquity ; and there
are these twelve hidden sins, through which souls
go down by numbers into the chambers of eternal
death : these you must search carefully for, and take
them as black marks, wherever they be foimd,
discovering a graceless and unconverted state ; and
as you love your lives, read carefully, with a holy
jealousy of yourselves, lest you should be the per-
sons concerned.

1. Gross wilful ignorance. O how many poor
souls doth this sin kill in the dark, Hos. 4 : 6, wliile
they think verily they have good hearts, and are in
the ready way to heaven. This is the murderer
that despatcheth thousands in a sUent maimer, when
they suspect nothing, and see not the hand that de-
stroys them. You shall find, whatever excuses you
make for ignorance, that it is a soul -ruining evil.
Isa. 27:11; 2 Thess. 1:8; 2 Cor. 4:3. Ah,
would it not have grieved a man's heart to see that
woful spectacle, when the poor Protestants were
shut up in a barn, and a butcher came, with his in-
human hands warmed in human blood, and led them
one by one, blindfold, to a block, where he slew
them, one after another, by scores, in cool blood?
But how much more should your hearts bleed to

88 ALLEINE'S ALARM. ^

think of the hundreds, in great congregations, that
ignorance doth destroy in secret, and lead blindfold
to the block. Beware that this be not your case.
Make no plea for ignorance ; if you spare that sin,
know that it will not spare you ; and would a man
keep a murderer in his bosom ?

2. Secret reserves in closing with Christ. To for-
sake all for Christ, to hate father and mother, yea,
a man's own life for him, Luke 14 : 26, "This is a
hard saying." Some will do much, but they will
not have the religion that will save them : they
never come to be entirely devoted to Christ, nor
fully to resign to him : they must have the sweet
sin ; they mean to do themselves no harm ; they
have secret exceptions for life, liberty, or estate.
Many take Christ thus, and never consider his self-
denying terms, nor count the cost ; and this error in
the foundation mars all, and ruins them forever.
Luke 14 : 28-33.

3. Formality in religion. Many rest in the out-
side of religion, and in the external performance of
holy duties. And this oftentimes doth most effect-
ually deceive men, and more certainly undo them
than open profaneness ; as it was in the Pharisee's
case. They hear, they fast, they pray, they give
alms, and therefore will not believe but their case
is good. Whereas, resting in the work done, and
coming short of the heart-work and the inward
power and vitality of religion, they fall at last into

THE MARKS OF THE UNCONVERTED, 89

the burning, from the flattering hope and confident
persuasion of their being in the ready way to heaven,
0 dreadful case, when a man's rehgion shall serve
only to harden him, and eflectually to delude and
deceive his own soul !

4, The prevalence of false ends in holy duties.
This was the bane of the Pharisees, 0 how many
a poor soul is undone by this, and drops into hell
before he discerns his mistake ! He performs his
" good duties," and so thinks all is well, but per-
ceives not that he is actuated by carnal motives all
the while. It is too true, that, even with the really
sanctified, many carnal ends will ofttimes creep in ;
but they are the matter of their hatred and humilia-
tion, and never come to be habitually prevalent with
them, and bear the greatest sway. But when the
main thing that doth ordinarily carry a man out to
religious duties shall be some carnal end — as to
satisfy his conscience, to get the reputation of being
religious, " to be seen of men," to show his own
gifts and parts, to avoid the reproach of being a
profane and irreligious person, or the like — this
discovers an unsound heart, 0 Christian, if you
would avoid self-deceit, see that you mind not only
your acts, but above all your ends.

5, Trusting in their own righteousness. This is
a soul-ruining mischief, , When men trust in their
o\m righteousness they do indeed reject Christ's.
Beloved, you had need be watchful on every hand ;

9D ALLEINE'S ALARM.

for, not only your sins, but your duties may undo
you. It may be you never thought of this ; but
so it is, that a man may as certainly miscarry by
his seeming righteousness and supposed graces as
by gross sins ; and that is, when a man doth trust
to these as his righteousness before God, for satis-
fying his justice, appeasing his wrath, procuring his
favor, and obtaining his own pardon ; for this is to
put Christ out of office, and make a Saviour of our
own duties and graces. Beware of this, 0 profes-
sors ; you are much in duties, but this one fly will
spoil all the ointment. When you have done most
and best, be sure to go out of yourselves to Christ ;
reckon your own righteousness but filthy rags.
Phil. 3:9; Isa. 64 : 6.

6. A secret enmity/ against the strictness of religion.
Many moral persons, punctual in their formal devo^
tions, have yet a bitter enmity against strictness and
zeal, and hate the life and power of religion. They
like not this forwardness, nor that men should make
such a stir in religion ; they condemn the strictness
of religion as singularity, indiscretion, and intem-
perate zeal, and with them a lively preacher or
lively Christian is but an enthusiast. These men
love not holiness as holiness, for then they would
love the height of holiness, and therefore are un-
doubtedly rotten at heart, whatever good opinion
they have of themselves.

T. The resting in a certain degree of religion.

THE MARKS OF THE UNCONVERTED. 91

"When they have so much as "will save them, as
they suppose, they look no farther, and so show
themselves short of true grace, which will ever put
men upon aspiring to perfection. Phil. 3 : 13 ; Pro v.
4:18.

8. The predominant love of the world. This is
the sure evidence of an unsanctified heart. " If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him." But how close does this sin lurk ofttimes
imder the fair covert of forward profession. Yea,
such a power of deceit is there in this sin, that many
times, when every body else can see the man's world-
liness and covetousness, he cannot see it himself,
but hath so many colors, and excuses, and pre-
tences, for his eagerness after the world, that he
doth blind his own eyes, and perish in his self-de-
ceit. How many professors are there with whom
the world hath more of their hearts and affections
than Christ; "who mind earthly things," and
thereby are evidently after the flesh, and like to
end in destruction. Yet ask these men, and they
will tell you confidently they prize Christ above all ;
for they see not their own earthly-mindedness, for
want of a strict observance of the workings of their
own hearts. Did they but carefully search, they
woiild quickly find that their greatest satisfaction
is in the world, and that their greatest care and main
endeavor are to get and secure the world, which
are the certain signs of an unconverted sinner. May

92 ALLEINE'S ALARM

the professing part of the world take earnest heed
that they perish not by the hand of this sin unob-
served. Men may be, and often are, kept off from
Christ as effectually by the inordinate love of lawful
comforts, as by the most unlawful courses.

9. Reigning malice and envy against those that
disrespect them, and are injurious to them. 0,
how do many, that seem to be religious, remember
injuries and carry grudges, rendering evil for evil,
loving to take revenge, wishing evil to them that
wrong them : directly against the rule of the Gos-
pel, the pattern of Christ, and the nature of God.
Doubtless, where this evil is kept boiling in the
heart, and is not hated, resisted, and mortified, but
doth habitually prevail, that person is in the very-
gall of bitterness, and in a state of death. Matt.
18: 32-35; 1 John, 3: 14, 15.

Reader, doth nothing of this touch thee ? Art
thou in none of the forementioned ranks ? 0 search,
and search again ; take thy heart solemnly to task.
Woe unto thee if, after thy profession, thou shouldst
be found under the power of ignorance, lost in
formality, drowned in earthly-mindedness, enven-
omed with malice, exalted in an opinion of thine
own righteousness, leavened with hypocrisy and
carnal ends in God's service, and imbittered against
strictness ; this would be a sad evidence that all thy
religion were in vain. But I must proceed.

10. JJnmortified pride. When men love the praisf

THE MARKS OP THE UNCONVERTED. 93

of men more than the praise of God, and set their
hearts upon men's esteem, applause, and appi'oba-
tion, it is most certain that they are yet in their sins,
and strangers to true conversion. When men see
not, nor complain, nor groan under the pride of their
own hearts, it is a sign they are dead in sin. 0,
how secretly doth this sin live and reign in many
hearts, and they know it not, but are very strangers
to themselves. John 9 : 40.

11. The prevailing love of pleasure. This is a
black mark. When men give the flesh the liberty
that it craves, and pamper and please it, and do not
deny and restrain it ; when their great delight is in
gratifying their appetites and pleasing their senses ;
whatever appearances they may have of religion, all
is unsound. A flesh-pleasing life cannot be pleasing
to God : " They that are Christ's have crucified the
flesh," and are careful to keep it under, as their en-
emy. Gal. 5 : 24 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 25-27.

12. Carnal security, or a presumptuous confidence
that their condition is already good. Many cry,
peace and safety, when sudden destruction is com-
ing upon them. This was that which kept the fool-
ish virgins sleeping when they should have been
working — upon their beds when they should have
been at the markets. They perceived not their
want of oil, till the bridegroom was come ; and while
they went to buy, the door was shut. And O, that
these foolish virgins had no successors ! Where ia

ft ALLEUNTE'S ALARM.

the place, yea, wliere is the house almost, where
these do not dwell ? Men are wiUing to cherish in
themselves, upon ever so slight grounds, a hope
that their condition is good, and so look not out after
a change, and by these means perish in their sins.
Are you at peace ? Show me upon what grounds
your peace is maintained. Is it Scripture peace ?
Can you show the distinguishing marks of a sound
believer? Can you evidence that you have some-
thing more than any hypocrite in the world ever
had ? If not, fear this peace more than any trouble ;
and know that a carnal peace doth commonly prove
the most mortal enemy of the soul, and, whilst it
smiles, and kisses, and speaks fairly, doth fatally
smite, as it were, imder the fifth rib.

By this time I think I hear my readers crying
out, Avith the disciples, "Who then shall be saved ?"
Set out from among our congregations all those ten
ranks of the profane on the one hand, and then be-
sides take out all these twelve classes of self-deceiv-
ing hypocrites on the other hand, and tell me whether
it be not a remnant that shall be saved. How few
will be the sheep that shall be left, when all these
shall be separated and set among the goats. For
my part, of all my numerous hearers, I have no
hope to see any of them in heaven that are to be
found among these two-and-twenty classes that are
here mentioned, except by sound conversion they
are brought into another condition.

THE MARKS Or THE UNCONVERTED. 95

And now, conscience, do thy office : speak out,
and speak home to him that heareth or readeth
these lines. If thou find any of these marks upon
him, thou mxist pronounce him utterly unclean.
Take not a lie into thy mouth ; speak not peace to
him to whom God speaks no peace ; let not sense
bribe thee, or self-love or carnal prejudice blind thee.
I summon thee from the court of heaven to come
and give evidence. As thou -wilt answer it at thy
peril, give in a true report of the state and case of
him that readeth this book. Conscience, wilt thou
altogether hold thy peace at such a time as this ?
I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell the
truth. Is the man converted, or is he not ? Doth
he allow himself in any way of wickedness, or doth
he not ? Doth he truly love, and please, and prize,
and delight in God above all things, or not ? Come,
put it to an issue.

How long shall this soul live at uncertainties ? O
conscience, bring in thy verdict. Is this man a new
man, or is he not ? How dost thou find it ? Hath
there passed a thorough and mighty change upon
him, or not ? When was the time, where was the
place, or what were the means by which this
thorough change of the new birth was wrought in
his soul ? Speak, conscience ; or if thou canst not
tell the time and place, canst thou show Scripture
evidence that the work is done ? Hath the man
ever been taken off from his false foundation, from

96 ALLRmE'S ALARM.

the false hopes and false peace wherein once he
trusted? Hath he been deeply convinced of sin,
and of his lost or undone condition, and brought out
of himself, and off from his sins, to give up himself
entirely to Jesus Christ ; or dost thou not find him
to this day under the power of ignorance, or in the
mire of worldliness? Hast thou not found upon
Mm the gains of unrighteousness? Dost thou not
find him a stranger to prayer, a neglecter of the
word, a lover of this present world ? Dost thou not
sometimes catch him in a lie ? Dost thou not find
his heart fermented with malice, or burning with
lust, or going after his covetousness ? Speak plain-
ly to all the forementioned particulars. Canst thou
acquit this man, this woman, from being in any of
the two-and-twenty classes here described ? If he be
found with any of them, set him aside ; his portion
is not with the saints. He must be converted and
made a new creature, or he cannot enter the king-
dom of God.

Beloved, be not your own betrayers ; do not de-
ceive your own hearts, nor set your hands to your
own ruin by a wilful blinding of yourselves. Set
up a tribunal in your own breasts : bring the word
and conscience together. " To the law and to the
testunony." Hear what the word concludes of your
state. 0 follow the search till you find how the
case stands. Mistake here, and you perish. And,
such is the treachery of the heart, the subtlety of

THE MARKS OF THE UNCONVERTED. 97

the tempter, and the deceitfulness of sin, all conspir-
ing to flatter and deceive the poor soul ; and withal
so common and easy it is to mistake, that it is a
thousand to one but you will be deceived, unless
you be very careful, and thorough, and impartial in
the inquiry into your spiritual condition. 0 there-
fore be diligent in your work ; go to the bottom ;
search with candles ; weigh yourself in the balance ;
come to the standard of the sanctuary ; bring your
coin to the touchstone, Satan is master of deceit ;
he can draw to the life ; he is perfect in the trade ;
there is nothing but he can imitate. You cannot
wish for any grace, but he can fit you with a coun-
terfeit. Be jealous ; trust not even your own heart.
Go to God to search you and try j'ou, to examine
you and prove your reins. If other helps suffice
not to bring all to an issue, but you are still at a
loss, open your case ingenuously to some godly and
faithful minister, or Christian friend. Rest not till
you have put the business of your eternal welfare
out of doubt. " 0 Searcher of hearts, put thou this
soul upon, and help him in his search."

AUtiiic% AUm.

98 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

CHAPTER V.

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED.

So unspeakably dreadful is the case of every un-
converted soul, that I have sometimes thought if I
could but convince men that they are yet unregene-
rate, the work were more than half done.

But I find by sad experience that such a spirit of
sloth and slumber possesses the unsanctified, that,
though they be convinced that they are yet uncon-
verted, they ofttimes carelessly sit still ; and through
the love of sensual pleasure, or the hurry of worldly
business, or the noise and clamor of earthly cares
and lusts and affections, the voice of conscience is
drowned, and men go no farther than some cold
wishes and general purposes of repenting and
amending.

It is therefore of high necessity that I not only
convince men that they are unconverted, but that I
also endeavor to bring them to a sense of the fearful
misery of this state.

But here I find myself aground at first setting off.
What tongiie can tell the heirs of hell sufficiently of
their misery, unless it were Dives in that flame ?
Luke 16 : 24. Where is the ready writer whose
pen can depict their misery who are without God in
the world ? This cannot fully be done, unless we
know the infinite ocean of bliss which is in perfec-

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 8&

tion in God, and from which a state of sin doth ex-
clude men. " Who knoweth," saith Moses, " the
power of thine anger ?" And how shall I tell men
that which I do, not know ? Yet so much we know,
as one would think would shake the heart of that
man that had tlie least degree of spiritual hfe and
sense.

But this is yet the more perplexing difficulty,
that I am to speak to them that are without spiritual
sense. Alas, this is not the least part of man's
misery, that he is dead, dead in trespasses and sins.

Could I bring paradise into view, or represent the
kingdom of heaven to as much advantage as the
tempter did the kingdoms of the world, and all the
glory thereof, to our Saviour ; or could I imcover the
face of the deep and devouring gulf of Tophet in all
its terrors, and open the gates of the infernal fur-
nace ; alas, he hath no eyes to see it. Could I
paint the beauties of hohness or the glory of the
Gospel ; or could I expose to view the more than
diabolical deformity and ugliness of sin : he can no
more judge of the loveliness and beauty of the one,
and the filthiness and hatefnlness of the other, than
a blind man of colors. He is alienated from the life
of God, through the ignorance that is in him be-
cause of the blindness of his heart. He neither
doth nor can know the things of God, because they
are spiritually discerned. His eyes cannot be sav-
ingly opened but by converting grace. He is a

100 ALLEINE'S ALARM

child of darkness, and walks in darkness. Yea, the
light in him is darkness.

Shall I ring his knell, or read his sentence, or
sound in his ear the terrible trump of God's judg-
ments, that one would think should make both his
ears to tingle, and strike him into Belshazzar's fit,
even to change his countenance, and to loose his
joints, and make his knees smite one against another?
Alas, he perceives me not ; he hath no ears to
hear. Or shall I call up the daughters of music,
and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb ? Yet he
will not be stirred. Shall I allure him with the
joyful sound, and lovely song, and glad tidings of
the Gospel ; with the most sweet and inviting calls,
comforts, and cordials of the divine promises so ex-
ceedingly great and precious ? It will not affect
him savingly, unless I could find him ears as well as
tell him the news.

What then shall I do ? Shall I uncover to him
the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone ; or
shall I open the box of spikenard, very precious,
that filleth the whole house of the universe with its
perfume, and hope that the savor of Christ's oint-
ments and the smell of his garments will attract
him ? Alas, dead sinners are like the dumb idols :
they have mouths, but they speak not ; eyes have
they, but they see not ; they have ears, but they
hear not ; noses have they, but they smell not ; they
have hands, but they handle not ; feet have they.

THE MISERIES OP THE UNCONVERTED. 101

but they walk not ; neither speak they through their
throat. They are destitute of spiritual sense and
motion.

But let me try the sense that doth last leave us,
and draw the sword of the word; yet, though I
choose mine arrows out of God's quiver, and direct
them to the heart, nevertheless he feeleth it not ;
for how should he, being past feeling ? So that,
though "the wrath of God abideth on him," and
the mountainous weight of so many thousand sins,
yet he goes up and down as light as if nothing ailed
him. In a word, he carries a dead soul in a living
body, and his flesh is but the walking coffin of a
corrupt mind that is twice dead. Jude 12.

Which way then shall I come at the miserable
objects that I have to deal with ? Who shall make
the heart of stone relent, or the lifeless carcass to
feel and move? That God who is able of " stones
to raise up children unto Abraham ;" " that raiseth
the dead," " and melteth the mountains," and
"striketh water out of the flint;" that loves to
work like himself, beyond the hopes and belief of
man ; that peopleth his church with dry bones ; he
is able to do this. Therefore " I bow my knee to
the most high God ;" and as our Saviour prayed at
the sepulchre of Lazarus, and the Shunamite ran to
the man of God for her dead child, so doth your
mourning minister carry you in the arms of prayer
to that God in whom your help is found.

1018 ALLEINE'S ALARM,

" 0 thou all-powerful Jehovah, who workest, and
none can hinder thee ! who hast the keys of death
and hell ! pity thou the dead souls that lie here en-
tombed, and roll away the grave-stone, and say as
to the dead body of Lazarus, Come forth. Lighten
thou this darkness, 0 inaccessible Light, and let the
day-spring from on high visit the dark regions of
the dead, to whom I speak ; for thou canst open the
eye that death itself hath closed ; thou that formedst
the ear, canst restore the hearing : say thou to these
ears, Ephphatha, and they shall be opened. Give
thou eyes to see thine excellencies, a taste that may
relish thy sweetness, a scent that may savor thy
ointment, a feeling that may discern the privilege
of thy favor, the burden of thy wrath, the intolera-
ble weight of unpardoned sin ; and give thy servant
order to prophesy to dry bones, and let the effects
of this prophecy be as of thy prophet when he pro-
phesied the valley of dry bones into a living army
exceeding great." Ezek. 37 : 1-10.

But I must proceed, as I am able, to unfold that
misery which, I confess, no tongue can unfold, no
heart can sufficiently comprehend.

Know therefore, that, while thou art unconverted,
1. The infinite God is engaged against thee. It
is no small part of thy misery that thou art " with-
out God." How doth Micah run crying after the
Danites, " Ye have taken away my gods, and what

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 103

have I more ?" 0 what a mourning then must thou
hft up, that art without God, that canst lay no
claim to him without daring usurpation-! How
piercing a moan is that of Saul in his last extremity,
" The Philistines are upon me, and God is departed
from me !" Sinners, but what will you do in the
day of your visitation ? Whither will you flee for
help ? Where will you leave your glory ? What
will you do when the Philistines are upon you ;
when the world shall take its eternal leave of you ;
when you must bid your friends, houses, and lands,
farewell for evermore ? What then, I say, will you
do, that have not God to go to ? WilUyou call on
him ? Will you cry to him for help ? Alas, he
will not own you. He will not take any notice of
you ; but will send you away with, " I never knew
you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

They that know what it is to have a God to go
to, a God to live upon — they know a little what a
fearful misery it is to be without God. This made
a holy man cry out, " Let me have God or nothing :
let me know him and his will, and what will please
him, and how I may come to enjoy him, or would I
never had an understanding to know any thing !"

But thou art not only without God, but God is
against thee. O if God would but stand neuter,
though he did not own nor help the poor sinner, his
case were not so deeply miserable ; though God
should give up the poor creature to the will of his

104 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

enemies, to do their worst with him ; though he
should deliver him over to the tormentors, that
devils sluould tear and torture him to their utmost
power and skill, yet this were not half so fearful.
But God will set himself against the sinner ; and,
believe it, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God." There is no friend like him, no
enemy like him. As much as heaven is above the
earth, omnipotence above impotence, so much more
terrible is it to fall into the hands of the living God,
than into the paws of bears and lions, yea, furies or
devils. God himself will be thy tormentor ; thy
destruction shall come from the presence of the Lord.

" If God be against thee, who shall be for thee?
If one man sin against another, the judge shall
judge him : but if a man sin against the Lord, who
shall entreat for him ?" " Thou, even thou, art to
be feared ; and who shall stand in thy sight when
thou art angry ?" Who or what shall deliver you
out of his hands? Can mammon? " Riches profit
not in the day of wrath." Can kings or warriors ?
No ; " they shall cry to the mountains and rocks to
fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him
th^t sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come,
and who shall be able to stand?"

Sinner, I think this should go like a dagger to
thy heart, to know that God is thine enemy. 0
whither wilt thou go ; where wilt thou shelter thee ?

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 105

There is no hope for thee, unless thou lay down thy
weapons and sue out thy pardon, and get Christ to
stand thy friend and make thy peace. If it were
not for this, thou mightest go into some howling
wilderness, and there pine in sorrow, and run mad
for anguish of heart and honible despair. But in
Christ there is a possibility of mercy for thee, yea,
a proiSer of mercy to thee, that thou maycst have
God more for thee than he is now against thee.
But if thou wilt not forsake thy sins, nor turn
thoroughly and to some purpose to God, by a sound,
conversion, the wrath of God abideth on thee, and
he proclaimeih himself to be against thee, as in the
prophet : " Therefore, thus saith the Lord God,
Behold I, even I, am against thee !"

(1.) His face is against thee. " The face of the
Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the re-
membrance of them." Woe unto them whom God
shall set his face against. When he did but look on
the host of the Egyptians, how terrible was the con-
sequence ! " I will set my face against that man,
and will make him a sign and a proverb, and will
cut him off from the midst of my people ; and ye
shall know that I am the Lord."

(2.) His lieart is against thee. He hateth all the
workers of iniquity. Man, doth not thy heart trem-
ble to think of thy being an object of God's hatred ?
" Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet
my mind could not be towards this people : cast

lOd ALLEINE'S ALAML

them out of my sight." " My soul loathed them,
and their souls also abhorred me."

(3.) His hand is against thee. All his attributes
are against thee.

His justice is like a flaming sword unsheathed
against thee : " If I whet my glittering sword, and
my hand take hold on judgment, I will render ven-
geance to mine adversaries, and will reward them
that hate me : I will make mine arrows drunk with
blood." So exact is justice, that it will by no
means clear the guilty. God will not discharge
thee, he will not hold thee guiltless, but will require
the whole debt in person of thee, unless thou canst
make a Scripture claim to Christ and his satisfac-
tion. When the enlightened sinner looks on justice,
and sees the balance in which he must be weighed
and the sword by which he must be executed, he
feels an earthquake in his breast ; but Satan keeps
this out of sight, and persuades the soul, while he
can, that the Lord is all rftade up of mercy, and so
lulls it asleep in sin. Divine justice is exact ; it
must have satisfaction to the utmost farthing : it
denounceth "indignation and wrath, tribulation and
anguish to every soul that doeth evil." It "curseth
every one that continueth not in all things written
in the law to do them." The justice of God to the
unpardoned sinner that hath a sense of his guilt, is
more terrible than the sight of the creditor to the
bankrupt debtor, of the judge and bench to the

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 107

robber, or of the irons and gibbet to the guilty
murderer. When justice sits upon life and death,
what dreadful work doth it make with the wretched
sinner ! " Bind him hand and foot ; cast him into
outer darkness ; there shall be weeping and gnash-
ing of teeth." " Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire." This is the terrible sentence that
justice pronounceth. Sinner, by this severe justice
must thou be tried ; and as God liveth, this killing
sentence must thou hear, unless thou repent and be
converted.

The holiness of God is against thee. He is not
only angry with thee — so he may be with his
children — but he hath a fixed, habitual displeasure
against thee. God's nature is infinitely contrary to
sin, and so he cannot delight in a sinner out of
Christ.

0 what misery is this, to be out of the favor, yea,
under the hatred of God; that God, who can as
easily lay aside his nature and cease to be God, as
not be contrary to thee and detest thee, except thou
be changed and renewed. O sinner, how darest
thou think of the bright and radiant sun of purity,
or the beauties, the glory of holiness in God ? " The
stars are not pure in his sight." " He humbles
himself to behold things that are done in heaven."
O those all-searching eyes of his ! what do they spy
in thee ; and hast thou no interest in Christ neither,
that he should plead for thee ? I think he should

108 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

hear thee ciying out, astonished, with the Bethshe-
mites, " Who is able to stand before this holy Lord
God?"

The power of God is against thee. The glory of
God's power is displayed in the Avonderful confusion
and destruction of them that obey not the Gospel.
He will make his power known in them, how mightily
he can torment them. For this end he raiseth them
up, "that he might make his power known." 0
man, art thou able to contend with thy Maker ?

Sinner, the power of God's anger is against thee,
and power and anger together make fearful work ;
it were better thou, hadst all the world in arms
against thee than to have the power of God against
thee. There is no escaping his hands, no breaking
his prison. " The thunder of his power, who can
understand?" Unhappy man that shall understand
it by feeling it ! " If he will contend with him, he
cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise
in heart and mighty in strength : who hath hardened
himself against him, and prospered ? which removeth
the mountains, arid they know it hot ; which over-
turaeth them in his anger ; which shaketh the earth
out of her place, and the pilliars thereof tremble ;
which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not ; and
sealeth up the stars ! Behold, he taketh away, who
can hinder him ? Who ^vill say unto him, What
doest thou ? If God will not withdraw his anger,
the proud helpers do stoop under him." Job 9 :

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 109

3-6, 12, 13. And art thou a fit match for such an
antagonist ? "0 consider this, ye that forget God,
lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to de-
liver." Submit to mercy ; let not dust and stubble
stand out against the Almighty ; set not briers and
thorns against him in battle, lest he 'go through
them, and consume them together ; but lay hold on
his strength that you may " make peace with him."
"Woe to him that striveth with his Maker !"

The wisdom of God is set to ruin thee. He hath
ordained his arrows, and prepared instruments of
death, and made all things ready. His counsels are
against thee, to contrive thy destruction. He sees
how thou wilt come down mightily in a moment;
how thou wilt gnash thy teeth for anguish of heart,
when thou seest thou art fallen irremediably into
the pit of destruction.

The truth of God is sworn against thee. If he
be true and faithful, thou must perish if thou goest
on. Unless he be false to his word, thou must die,
except thou repent. If we believe not, yet he
abideth faithful ; he cannot deny himself ; that is,
he is faithful to his threatenings as well as to his
promises, and will show his faithfulness in our con-
fusion, if we believe not. God hath told thee as
plain as it can be spoken, that " if he wash thee not,
thou hast no part in him ;" that "if thou livest after
the flesh, thou shalt die ;" that " except thou be
converted, thou shalt in no wise enter into the king-

Ufl ALLEINE'S ALARM.

dom of heaven." Beloved, as the immutable faith-
fulness of God in his promise and oath affords
believers strong consolation, so they are to unbe-
lievers for strong consternation and confusion.

0 sinner, tell me what dost thou think of all the
threatenings of God's word that stand upon record
against thee? Dost thou believe they are truth or
not ? If not, thou art a wretched infidel. But, if
thou dost believe them, 0 heart of adamant that
thou hast, that thou canst walk up and down in
quiet, when the truth and faithfulness of God are
engaged to destroy thee ! The whole book of God
doth testify against thee while thou remainest un-
sanctified : it condemns thee in every leaf, and is to
thee like Ezekiel's roll, written within and without
with lamentation, and mourning, and woe. And all
this shall surely come upon thee, except thou repent.
" Heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or
tittle of this word shall never pass away."

Now, put all this together, and tell me if the case
of the unconverted be not deplorably miserable. As
we read of some persons that had bound themselves
by an oath and a curse to kill Paul ; so thou must
know, O sinner, to thy terror, that all the attributes
of the infinite God are bound by an oath to punish
thee. O man, what wilt thou do ; whither wilt
thou flee ? If God's omniscience can find thee,
thou shalt not escape. If the true and faithful God
will regard his oath, perish thou must, except thou

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. IH

believe and repent. If the Almighty hath power
to torment thee, thou must be perfectly miserable
in soul and body to all eternity, unless it be pre-
vented by speedy conversion.

2. The whole creation of God is against thee.
" The whole creation," saith Paul, " groaneth and
travaileth in pain." But what is it that the creation
groaneth under ? The fearful abuse it is subject to
in serving the lusts of unsanctified men. And what
is it that the creation groaneth for ? For freedom
and liberty from this abuse ; for the " creature is
not willingly made subject to this bondage." Rom.
8 : 20, 21. If the irrational and inanimate creatures
had speech and reason, they would cry out under
it, as a bondage insufferable, to be abused by the
ungodly, contrary to their natures and the ends that
the great Creator made them for. It is a saying of
an eminent divine, " The liquor that the dnmkard
drinketh, if it had reason, like a man, to know how
shamefully it is abused, would groan in the barrel
against him, it would groan in the cup against him,
groan in his throat, in his stomach against him ; it
would fly in his face, if it could speak. And if God
should open the mouths of his creatures, as he did
the mouth of Balaam's ass, the proud man's gar-
ment on his back would groan against him. There
is never a creature, if it had reason to know how it
is abused till a man be converted, but would groan
against him : the land would groan to bear him ; the

112 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

air would groan to give him breath ; their houses
would groan to lodge them ; their beds would groan
to ease them, their food to nourish them, their
clothes to cover them, and the creature would groan
to give them any help and comfort, so long as they
live in sin against God."

I think this should be a terror to an unconverted
soul, to think he is a burden to the creation : " Cut
it down ; why cumbereth it the ground ?" If inani-
mate creatures could but speak, thy food would say,
Lord, must I nourish such a wretch as this, and
yield forth my strength for him to dishonor thee ?
The very air would say, Lord, must I give this man
breath to speak against Heaven, and scorn thy peo-
ple, and vent his pride and wrath, and filthy com-
munication, and utter oaths and blasphemy against
thee ? His poor beast would say. Lord, must I
carry him upon his wicked design ? A wicked man !
the earth groans under him, and hell groans for him,
till de^h satisfies both. While the Lord of hosts
is aofainst thee, be sure the host of the Lord is
against thee, and all the creatures, as it were, up in
arms, till, upon a man's conversion, the controversy
being settled between God and him. he makes a
covenant of peace with the creature for him.

3. The roaring lion, Satan, hath his full power
upon thee. Thou art led captive by him at his will.
This is the spirit that worketh in the children of dis-
obedience. He is the ruler of the darkness of this

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 113

■world, that is, of ignorant sinners who live in dark-
ness. You pity the poor Indians that worship the
devil for their god, but little think it is your own
case. It is the common misery of all the unsancti-
fied, that the devil is their god. Not that they in-
tend to do him homage : they will be ready to defy
him, and him that should say so of them ; but all
this while they serve him, and live under his govern-
ment. His servants ye are to whom ye obey.
Rom. 6:16. 0 how many, then, will be foxmd the
real servants of the devil, that take themselves for
no other than the children of God ! He can no
sooner offer a sinful delight or opportunity for
your unlawful advantage than you embrace it.
If he suggest a he, or prompt you to revenge,
you readily obey. If he forbid you to read or
pray, you hearken to him, and therefore his ser-
vants you are. Indeed, he stands behind the curtain,
he acts in the dark, and sinners see not who setteth
them at work, but all the while he leads them.
Doubtless the liar intends not a service to Satan,
but his own advantage ; yet it is he that stands im-
observed and putteth the thing into his heart. Un-
doubtedly Judas, when he sold his Master for money,
and the Chaldeans and Sabeans, when they plun-
dered Job, intended not to do the devil a pleasure,
but to satisfy their own covetous thirst ; yet it was
he that actuated them in their wickedness. Men
may be very slaves and common drudges for the

Alleiue'i Alarm. O

itl ALLEINE'S ALARM.

devil, and not know it : nay, tliey may please them-
selves in thoughts of liberty.

Art thou yet in ignorance, and not turned from
darkness unto light ? I fear thou art under the
power of Siitan. Dost thou Uve in the wilful prac-
tice of any known sin ? Know that thou art of the
devil. Dost thou live in strife, or envy, or malice ?
Verily he is thy father. 0 dreadful case ! However
Satan may provide his slaves with divers pleasures,
yet it is but to draw them into endless perdition.
The serpent comes with the fruit in his mouth, but,
with Eve, thou seest not the deadly sting. He that
is now thy tempter, will one day be thy tormentor.
O that I could but give thee to see how bad a master
thou servest, how merciless a tyrant thou gratifiest ;
all Avhose pleasure is to set thee on to make thy
perdition and damnation sure, and to heat the fur-
nace hotter and hotter in w hich thou must burn for
millions and millions of ages !

4. The guilt of all thy sins lies like a mountain
upon thee. Poor soul, thou feelest it not ; but this
is that which seals thy misery. While unconverted,
none of thy sins are blotted out, they are all upon
record against thee. Rea^eneration and remission
are never separated ; the unsanctified are unjustified
and unpardoned. It is a fearful thing to be in debt,
but above all, in God's debt ; for there is no arrest
so formidable as his, no prison so dreary as his.
Look upon an enlightened sinner who feels the

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 115

weight of his own guilt : 0 how frightful are his
looks, how fearful are his complaints ! his comforts
are turned into wormwood, and his moisture into
drought, and his sleep is departed from his eyes.
He is a terror to himself and all that are about him,
and is ready to envy the very stones that lie in the
street, because they are senseless and feel not his
misery, and wisheth he had been a dog, rather than
a man, because then death had put an end to his
misery ; whereas now it will be but the beginning
of that which will know no ending.

However you may make light of it now, you will
one day find the guilt of unpardoned sin to be a
heavy burden. This is a mill-stone, that "whoso-
ever falleth upon it shall be broken ; but upon
whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to pow-
der," The guilt of our sins caused the agony and
death of the blessed Saviour. And if it did this in
the green tree, what will it do in the dry?

0 think of thy case in time. Canst thou think
of that threat without trembling, " Ye shall die in
your sins ?" 0, better were it for thee to die in a
jail, in a ditch, in a dungeon, than die in thy sins.
If death, as it Avill take away all thy comforts, would
take away thy sins too, it were some mitigation ; but
thy sins will follow thee when thy friends leave thee,
and all worldly enjoyments shake hands with thee.
Thy sins will not die with thee as a prisoner's other
debts will ; but they will go to judgment with thee.

136 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

there to be thy accusers ; and they "will go to hell
with thee, there to be thy tormentors. O the work
that these will make thee. 0 look over thy debts
in time ; how every one of God's commandments is
ready to arrest thee, and take thee by the throat for
the innumerable bonds it hath upon thee. What
wilt thou do, then, when they shall all together
come in against thee ? Hold open the eyes of thy
conscience to consider this, that thou mayest despair
of thyself and be driven to Christ, and fly for refuge
to " lay hold on the hope that is set before thee."

5. Thy raging lusts do miserably enslave thee.
While unconverted, thou art a very servant to sin ;
it reigns over thee, and holds thee xmder its do-
minion, till thou art brought within the bonds of
God's covenant. There is not such another tyrant
as sin. 0 the vile and fearful Avork that it doth en-
gage its servants in !

Would it not pierce thy heart to see a company
of poor creatures drudging and toiling to carry to-
gether fagots and fuel for their own burning ? This
is the employment of sin's drudges. Even while
they bless themselves in their unrighteous gains,
while they sing in pleasure, they are but treasuring
up vengeance for their eternal burning ; they are
but adding to the pile of Tophet, and flinging in oil
to make the flame rage the fiercer. Who would
serve such a master, whose work is drudgery, whose
wages are death ?

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 117

What a woful spectacle "was the poor wretch pos-
sessed with the legion ! Would it not have grieved
thy heart to see him among the tombs cutting and
wounding himself ? This is thy case ; such is thy
work ; every stroke is a thrust at thy heart. Con-
science indeed is now asleep ; but, when death and
judgment shall bring thee to thy senses, then wilt
thou feel the anguish in every wound. The con-
vinced sinner is a sensible instance of the miserable
bondage of sin : conscience flies upon him, and tells
him the end of these things ; and yet such a slave he is
to his lusts, that on he goes, though he sees it will be
his perdition : when the temptation comes, lust breaks
the cords of all his v^jws and promises, and carries
him headlong to his own destruction.

6. The furnace of eternal vengeance is heated ready
for thee. Hell and destruction open their mouths
upon thee ; they gape for thee ; they groan for thee,
Isa. 5:14; waiting as it were with a greedy eye, as
thou standest on the brink. If the wrath of men
be " as the roaring of a lion," " more heavy than the
sand," what is the wrath of the infinite God ? If
the burning furnace heated in Nebuchadnezzar's
fiery rage, when he commanded it to be made yet
seven times hotter, was so fierce as to bum up even
those that drew near to throw the three children in,
how hot is that burning of the Almighty's fury !
Surely this is seventy times seven more fierce. What
thinkest thou, 0 man, of being a fagot in hell to all

118 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

eternity? "Can thine heart endure, or can thine
hands be strong in the day that I shall deal with
thee ? saith the Lord of hosts." Canst thou abide
the everlasting burnings ? Canst thou dwell with
consuming fire ; when thou shalt be as glowing iron
in hell, and thy whole body and soul shall be as per-
fectly possessed by God's burning vengeance as the
sparkhng iron with fire, when heated in the fiercest
furnace ? Some of the choicest servants of God,
when under the hidingrs of his face, and dreadinsr the
effects of his displeasure, have bewailed their condi-
tion with bitter lamentations. How then wilt thou
endure when God shall pour out all his vials, and
set himself against thee, to torment thee ; when he
shall make thy conscience the tunnel by which he
will be pouring his burning wrath into thy soul for
ever, and when he shall fill all thy pores as full of
torment as they are now full of sin ; when immor-
tality shall be thy misery, and to die the death of a
brute, and be swallowed in the gulf of annihilation,
shall be such a felicity as the whole eternity of
wishes and an ocean of tears shall never purchase?
Now thou canst put off the evil day, and laugh
and be merry, and forget "the terror of the Lord."
But how wilt thou hold out, or hold up, when God
will cast thee into a "bed of torments," and make
thee to "lie down in sorrow;" when roarings and
blasphemies shall be thy only music, and the wine
of the wrath of God, which is poured out without

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 119

mixture into the cup of his indignation, shall be thy
only drink ; and when thou shalt draw in flames for
thy breath : in a word, Avhen the smoke of thy tor-
ment shall ascend for ever and ever, and thou shalt
have no rest day nor night, no rest in thy conscience,
no ease in thy bones ; but thou shalt be an execra-
tion and astonishment, and a curse and a reproach,
for evermore? Jer. 42 : 18.

O sinner, stop here, and consider. If thou art a
man, and not a senseless block, consider. Bethink
thyself wherb thou standest — upon the very brink
of destruction. As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, there is but a step between thee and this.
Thou knowest not, when thou liest down, but thou
mayest be in hell before morning : thou knowest
not, wlien thou risest, but thou mayest drop in be-
fore night. Darest thou make light of this ? Wilt
thou go on in such a dreadful condition, as if nothing
ailed thee ? If thou puttest it off, and say est, " this
doth not belong to thee," look again over the fore-
going chapter, and tell me the truth. Are none
of those black marks found upon thee? Do no+
blind thme eyes ; do not deceive thyself ; see thy
misery while thou mayest prevent it. Think what
it is to be a vile outcast, a lost reprobate, . a vessel
of wrath, into which the Lord will be pouring out
his tormenting fury while he hath a being.

Divine wrath is a fierce, devouring, everlasting,
imquenchable fire, and this must be thy portion.

120 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

•unless thou consider thy ways, and speedily turn to
the Lord by a sound conversion. They that have
had but a foretaste of this woe, 0 Avhat amazing
spectacles they have been ! Whose heart would not
melt to have heard Spira's outcries ; to have seen
Chaloner, that monument of justice, worn to skin
and bone, blaspheming the God of heaven, cursing
himself, and continually crying out, " 0 torture, tor-
ture, torture ! 0 torture, torture !" as if the flames
of wrath had already taken hold on him ; to have
heard Rogers crying out, "I have had a little pleas-
ure, but now I must have hell for evermore ;" wish-
ing but for this mitigation, that God would let him
lie burning for ever behind the back of that fire, on
the hearth, and bringing in his sad conclusion still,
at the end of whatever Avas spoken to him to afford
him some hope, " I must to hell, I must to hell, I
must to the furnace of hell, for millions and millions
of ages ?" 0, if the fears and forethoughts of the
wrath to come be so terrible, so intolerable, what
must be the feehng of it ?

Sinner, it is in vain to flatter you : this would be but
to draw you into the unquenchable fire. Know ye
from the living God, that here you must lie ; with these
burnings you must dwell till immortality die and im-
mutability change, till eternity run out and omnipo-
tence is no longer able to punish, except you be in good
«}arnest renewed throughout by sanctifying grace.
7. The law discharges all its threats and curses at thee.

THE MSERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 121

0 how dreadfully doth it thunder. It flashes devour-
ing fire in thy face. Its words are as drawn swords,
and as the sharp arrows of the mighty. It demands
satisfaction to the utmost, and cries, Justice, justice !
It speaks blood, and war, and wounds, and death,
against thee. O man, away to thy strong hold ; away
from thy sins ; haste to the sanctuary, the city of
refuge — even the Lord Jesus Christ ; hide thee in him,
or else thou art lost, without any hope of recovery.
8. The Gospel itself Wndieih. the sentence of eternal
damnation upon thee. If thou continuest in thine im-
penitent and unconverted state, know that the Gos-
pel denounceth a much sorer condemnation than ever
would have been for the transgression only of the first
covenant. Is it not a dreadful case to have the Gospel
itself fill its mouth with threats ; to have " the Lord
roar from mount Zion against thee ?" Hear the terror
of the Lord : " He that believeth not, shall be damned."
" Except ye repent, ye shall all perish." " This is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and
men love darkness rather than light." " He that be-
lieveth not, the wrath of God abideth on him." " If
the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just rec-
ompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neg-
lect so great salvation ?" " He that despised Moses'
law died without mercy : of how much sorer pun-
ishment shall he be thought worthy that hath trod-
den under foot the Son of God?"

122 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

And is this true indeed ? Is this thy misery ?
Yea, it is as true as God is. Better open thine eyes
and see it now, while thou mayest remedy it, than
bhnd and harden thyself till, to thy eternal sorrow,
thou shalt feel Avhat thou wouldst not believe ; and
if it be true, what dost thou mean, to loiter and
linger in such a case as this ?

Alas for thee, poor man ! how effectually hath sin
undone thee, and deprived and despoiled thee even
of thy reason to look after thine own everlasting good.
0 miserable wretch ! what stupidity and senselessness
have surprised thee. 0 let me knock up and awake
this sleeper. Who dwells within the walls of this
flesh ? Is there ever a soul here, a rational, under-
standing soul ; or art thou only a senseless lump ?

Art thou a reasonable soul, and yet so far bruti-
fied as to forget that thou art immortal, and to think
thyself to be as the beasts that perish ? Having
reason to understand the eternity of the future state,
dost thou yet make light of being everlastingly mis-
erable, which is to be so much below the brute, as
it is worse to act ajjainst reason than to act with-
out it? 0 unhappy soul, that wast the glory of
man, the companion of angels, and the image of
God; that wast God's representative in the world,
and hadst the supremacy amongst the creatures, and
the dominion over thy Maker's works ; art thou now
become a slave to sense? Art thou heaping to-
gether a little refined earth, so unsuitable to thy spir-

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 133

itual immortal nature ? 0 why dost thou not be-
think thee where thou shalt be for ever ? Death is
at hand ; " the Judge is even at the door." Yet a
httle while, and "time shall be no longer." And
wilt thou run the hazard of continuing in such a
state, in which, if thou be overtaken, thou art irre-
coverably miserable ?

Come then, arise, and attend to thy nearest con-
cerns. Tell me whither art thou going? What,
wilt thou Uve in such a course, wherein every act is
a step to perdition ; and thou dost not know but the
next night thou mayest make thy bed in hell ? 0,
if thou hast a spark of reason, consider, and turn
and hearken to thy true friend, who would show
thee thy present misery, that thou mightest in time
make thine escape, and be eternally happy.

Hear whaf the Lord saith : " Fear ye not me ?
saith the Lord : will ye not tremble at my presence ?"

0 sinners, do you make light of " the wrath to come ?"

1 am sure there is a time coming when you will not
make light of it. Why, the very devils "believe
and tremble." What, are you more hardened than
they ? Will you run upon the edge of the rock ?
Will you play at the hole of the asp ? Will you
put your hand upon the cockatrice's den ? Will you
dally with devouring wrath as if you were indifferent
whether you escape or endure it ? 0 madness of
folly ! like that of a madman that casteth firebrands,
arrows, and death, and saith, " Am not I in sport ?"

134 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

There is no one so beside himself as the wilful sin-
ner, that goeth on in his unconverted state without
sense, as if nothing ailed him. The man that runs
into the cannon's mouth, and sports with his blood,
or lets out his life in a frolic, is sensible, sober, and
serious, compared with him that goeth on still in his
trespasses ; for " he stretcheth out his hand against
God, and strengtheneth himself against the Al-
mighty : he runneth upon him, even upon his neck,
upon the thick bosses of his buckler." Is it wisdom
to sport with the second death, or to venture into
the lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone ?
What shall I say ? I can find out no expression, no
comparison, whereby to set forth the dreadful mad-
ness of the soul that will go on in sin.

Awake, awake ! 0 sinner, arise and take thy flight.
There is but one door that thou mayest flee by, and
that is the strait door of conversion and the new
birth. Unless thou turn unfeignedly from all thy
sins, and come to Jesus Christ, and take him for the
Lord thy righteousness, and walk in him in holiness
and newness of life ; as the Lord hveth, it is not
more certain that thou art now out of hell, than that
thou shalt without fail be in it but a few days or
nights hence. 0 set thy heart to think of thy case.
Doth not thy everlasting misery or welfare deserve
a little consideration ? Look again over the miseries
of the unconverted. If the Lord hath not spoken
by me, regard me not ; but if it be the very word

THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. 125

of God that all this misery lies upon thee, -what a
case art thou in ! Is it for one that hath his senses
to hve in such a condition, and not to make all pos-
sible haste to prevent his utter ruin ? O man, who
hath bewitched thee, Gal. 3:1, that in the matters
of this present hfe thou shalt be wise enough to fore-
cast thy business, foresee thy danger, and prevent'
thy ruin ; but in matters of everlasting consequence
shalt be slight and careless, as if they little con-
cerned thee ? Is it nothing to thee to have all the
attributes of God engaged against thee? Canst
thou live without his favor ? Canst thou escape his
hands, or endure his vengeance ? Dost thou hear the
creation groaning under thee, and hell groaning for
thee, and yet think thy case good enough ? Art
thou under the power of corruption, in the dark,
noisome prison, fettered with lusts, working out thy
own damnation — and is not this worth a thought ?

Wilt thou make light of all the terrors of the law,
of all its curses and thunders, as if they were but the
threatenincjs of a child ? Dost thou laug-h at hell
and destruction, or canst thou drink the envenomed
cup of the Almighty's fury, as if it were but a com-
mon potion ?

Gird up now thy loins like a man, for I will de-
mand of thee, and answer thou me. Art thou such
a leviathan as that the scales of thy pride should
resist thy Maker ? Wilt thou esteem his arrows as
straw, and the instruments of death as rotten wood ?

128 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

Art thou chief of all the children of pride, even that
thou shouldst count his darts as stubble, and laugh
at the shaking of his spear ? Art thou made with-
out fear, and contemnest thou his barbed arrows ?
Art thou like the horse that paweth in the valley
and rejoiceth in his strength, who goeth out to meet
the armed men ? Dost thou mock at fear, and art
thou not affrighted, neither turnest back from God's
sword when his quiver rattleth against thee, the glit-
tering spear and the shield ? Well, if the threats
and calls of the word will not awaken thee, I am
sure death and judgment will. 0 what wilt thou
do when the Lord cometh forth against thee, and in
his fury falleth upon thee, and thou shalt feel what
thou readest ? If when Daniel's enemies were cast
into the den of lions, both they and their wives and
their children, the lions had the mastery of them,
and brake all their bones in pieces ere they came at
the bottom of the den, Dan. 6 : 24, what shall be-
come of thee when thou fullest into the hands of the
living God ?

0 do not then contend with God. " Repent and
be converted," so none of this shall come upon
thee. " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found ;
call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and he
will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon,"

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 127

CHAPTER VI.

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCOITVERTED.

Before thou readest these directions, I advise
thee, yea, I charge thee, before God and his holy
angels, that thou resolve to follow them, as far as
conscience shall be convinced of their agreeableness
to God's word and thy state ; and call in his assist-
ance and blessing that they may succeed. And as
I have sought the Lord and consulted his oracles
what advice to give thee, so must thou entertain it
with that awe, reverence, and purpose of obedience,
which the word of the living God requires.

Now, then, attend : " Set your heart unto all that
I shall testify unto you this day ; for it is not a vain
thing — it is your life." This is the end of all that
has been spoken hitherto, to bring you to set your
heart upon turning to God. I would not trouble
you, nor "torment you before the time," with the
thoughts of your eternal misery, but in order to your
making your escape. Were you shut up under your
present misery without remedy, it were but mercy
to let you alone, that you might take in that little
poor comfort which you are capable of in this world ;
but you may yet be happy, if you do not wilfully
refuse the means of your recovery. Behold, I hold
open the door to you ; arise, take your flight : I set
the way of life before you ; walk in it, and you shall

128 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

live, and not die. It grieves me that ydu should be
your own murderers, and throw yourselves headlong,
when God and man cry out to you, as Peter in an-
other case to his Master, " Spare thyself."

The destruction of ungodly men is wilful. God
that made them crieth out to them, as Paul to the
distracted jailer when about to murder himself, " Do
thyself no harm." The ministers of Christ forewarn
them, and follow them, and would gladly have them
back ; but, alas, no expostulations or entreaties will
prevail, but men will hurl themselves into perdition,
while pity itself looketh on.

What shall I say ? Would it not grieve a person
of any humanity, if, in the time of a raging plague,
he should have a remedy that would infallibly cure
all the country and recover the most hopeless pa-
tients, and yet his friends and neighbors should die
by hundreds about him, because they would not
use it ? Men and brethren, though you carry the
certain symptoms of death in your faces, yet I have
a receipt that will cure you all infallibly. Follow
but these directions, and if you do not then win
heaven, I will be content to lose it.

Hear then, 0 sinner, and as ever thou wouldst
be converted and saved, embrace this following
counsel.

Direction I. Set it down with thyself as an un-
doubted truth, that it is impossible for thee ever to
get to heaven in this thy unconverted state.

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED, 129

Can any other but Christ save thee ? and he tells
thee he will never do it except thou be regenerated
and converted. Doth he not keep the keys of
heaven; and canst thou go in without his leave?
as thou must, if ever thou come thither in thy
natural condition, without a sound and thorough
conversion.

Direction II. Labor to get a thorough sight and
lively sense and feeling of thy sins.

Till men are weary and heaven laden, and pricked
at the heart, and quite sick of sin, they will not
come to Christ, in his way, for cure, nor to purpose
inquire, " What shall we do ?" They must set
themselves down for dead men, before they will
come unto Christ that they may have life. Labor,
therefore, to set all thy sins in order before thee ;
never be afraid to look upon them, but let thy spirit
make diligent search. Inquire into thine heart, and
into thy life ; enter into a thorough examination of
thyself and all thy ways, that thou mayest make a
full discovery ; and call in the help of God's Spirit,
in the sense of thine own inability hereunto, for it is
his proper work to convince of sin. Spread all be-
fore* thy conscience, till thy heart and eyes be set
weeping. Leave not striving with God and thine
own soul, till it cry out under the sense of thy sins,
as the enlightened jailer, "What must I do to be
saved ?" To this purpose.

Meditate on the number of thy sins. David's

AUeine'i Alann. 0

130 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

heart failed when he thought of this, and considered
that he had more sins than the hairs of his head.
This made him cry out for the multitude of God's
tender mercies. Look backward ; where Avas ever
the place, what was ever the time, in which thou
didst not sin ? Look inward ; what part or power
canst thou find in soul or body but it is poisoned
with sin ; what duty dost thou ever perform, into
which this poison is not shed ? 0 how great is the
sum of thy debts, who hast been all thy life running
upon trust, and never didst or canst pay off one
penny ! Look over the sin of thy nature, and all its
cursed brood, the sins of thy life. Call to mind thy
omissions and commissions ; the sins of thy thoughts,
words, and actions ; the sins of thy youth, and the
sins of thy riper years. Be not like a desperate
bankrupt, that is afraid to look over his books.
Read the records of conscience carefully. These
books must be opened sooner or later.

Meditate on the aggravations of thy sins, as they
are the grand enemies of the God of thy life, and
of the life of thy soul : in a word, they are the pub-
lic enemies of all mankind. How do David, Ezra,
Daniel, and the good Levites, aggravate their sins,
from the consideration of their opposition to God
and his good and righteous laws, and of the mercies
and warnings against which they were committed !
0 the work that sin has made in the world ! This
is the enemy that has brought in death; that has

DiEEcnoNS TO THE uncon\t:rted. 131

robbed and enslaved man ; that has done the work
of the devil, and digged hell. This is the enemy
that has turned the world upside down, and sown
dissensions between man and the creatures, betwixt
man and man, yea, between man and himself, setting
the animal part against the rational, the will against
the judgment, lust against conscience ; yea, worst
of all, between God and man, making the sinner
both hateful to God and the hater of God. 0 man,
how canst thou- make so light of sin? This is the
traitor that thirsted for the blood of the Son of God,
that sold him, that mocked him, that scourged him
that spit in his face, that tore his hands, that pierced
his side, that pressed his soul, that mangled his
body, that never left him till he had bound him,
condemned him, nailed him, crucified him, and put
him to an open shame. This is that deadly poison,
so powerful of operation that one drop of it, shed on
the root of mankind, has corrupted, spoiled, poisoned,
and ruined his whole race. This the bloody execu-
tioner that has killed the prophets, burnt the mar-
tyrs, murdered all the apostles, all the patriarchs,
all the kings and potentates ; that has destroyed
cities, swallowed empires, and devoured whole
nations. Whatever weapon it was done by, it was
sin that caused the execution. Dost thou yet think
it but a small thing ? If Adam and all his children
could be dug out of their graves, and their bodies
piled up to heaven, and an inquest were made what

132 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

matchless murderer were guilty of all this blood, it
would be all found in sin. Study the nature of sin,
till thy heart incline to fear and loathe it ; and medi-
tate on the aggravations of thy particular sins, how
thou hast sinned against all God's warnings, against
thy own prayers, against mercies, against corrections,
against clearest light, against freest love, against
thine own resolutions, against promises, vows, and
covenants of better obedience. Charge thy heart
home with these things till it blush for shame, and
be brought out of all good opinion of itself.

Meditate on the desert of sin. It crieth to Heaven ;
it calls for vengeance. Its due wages are death and
damnation; it brings the curse of God upon the
soul and body. The least sinful word or thought
lays thee under the infinite wrath of God. O what
a load of wrath, what a weight of curses, what
treasures of vengeance, have all the millions of thy
sins deserved ! 0 judge thyself, that the Lord may
not judge thee.

Meditate on the deformity and defilement of sin.'
It is black as hell, the very image and likeness of
the devil drawn upon the soul. 1 John, 3:8, 10.
It would affright thee to see thyself in the hateful
deformity of thy nature. There is no mire so un-
clean, no plague or leprosy so noisome as sin, in
which thou art plunged and rendered more dis-
pleasing to the pure and holy nature of the glorious
God than the vilest object can be to thee. Couldst

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 133

thou take up a toad into thy bosom ; couldst thou
cherish it, and take dehght in it ? But thou art as
contrary to the pure and perfect hohness of the
divine nature, till thou art purified by the blood of
Jesus and the power of renewing grace.

Above all other sins, consider these two.

1. The sin of ihj heart. It is to little purpose to
lop off the branches while the root of corruption
remains untouched. In vain do men lave out the
streams, when the fountain is running that fills up
all again. Let the axe of thy repentance, with
David's, go to the root of sin. Study how deep,
how permanent is thy natural pollution, how uni-
versal it is, till thou dost cry out, with Paul, upon
thy body of death. The heart is never soundly
broken till thoroughly convinced of the heinousness
of its original and deep-rooted depravity. Here fix
thy thoughts ; this is that which makes thee back-
ward to all good, and prone to all evil ; that sheds
bhndness, pride, prejudice, and unbelief into thy
mind ; enmity, inconstancy, and obstinacy into thy
will ; inordinate heats and colds into thy affections ;
insensibleness and unfaithfulness into thy conscience ;
slipperiness into thy memory ; and, in a word, hath
put every wheel of the soul out of order, and made
it, from a habitation of holiness, to become a very
hell of iniquity. This is what hath defiled and per-
verted all thy members, and turned them into
weapons of unrighteousness, and servants of sin ;

134 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

that hath filled the head with carnal and corrupt
designs ; the hand with sinful practices ; the eyes
with wandering and wantonness ; the tongue with
deadly poison ; that hath opened the ears to tales,
flattery, and filthy communication, and shut them
against the instructions of life ; and hath rendered
thy heart the cursed source of all deadly imagina-
tions, so that it poureth out its wickedness without
ceasing even as naturally as a fountain doth pour
forth its waters, or the raging sea doth cast forth
mire and dirt. And wilt thou yet be in love with
thyself, and tell us any longer of thy good heart ?
O never leave meditating on the desperate conta-
gion, the original corruption of thy heart, till, with
Ephraim, thou bemoan thyself ; and with the deepest
shame and sorrow smite on thy breast, as the pub-
lican ; and, with Job, abhor thyself, and repent in
dust and ashes.

2. The particular evil that thou art most addicted
to : find out all its aggravations, set home upon thy
heart all God's threats against it ; repentance drives
before it the whole herd, but especially sticks the
arrow in the beloved sin, and singles this out, above
the rest, to run it down. 0 labor to make this sin
odious to thy soul, and double thy guard and reso-
lutions against it, because this doth most dishonor
God and endanger thee.

Direction III. Strive to aff"ect thy heart with a
deep sense of thy present misery.

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 135

Read over the foregoing chapter again and again,
and get it out of the book into thy heart. Remem-
ber when thou liest down, that, for aught thou
knowest, thou mayest awake in flames ; and when
thou risest up, that by the next night thou mayest
make thy bed in hell. Is it nothing to thee to live
in such a fearful case, to stand tottering on the brink
of the bottomless pit ; and to live at the mercy of
every disease, that, if it but fall upon thee, will send
thee forthwith into the burnings ? Suppose thou
sawest a condemned wretch hanging over Nebu-
chadnezzar's burning fiery furnace by nothing but a
thread which was ready to break every moment,
would not thy heart tremble for such a one ? Thou
art the man : this is thy very case, 0 man, woman,
that readest this, if thou be yet unconverted. What
if the thread of thy life should break — and thou
knowest not but it may be the next night, yea,
the next moment — ^where wouldst thou be then;
whither wouldst thou drop ? Verily, upon the
breaking of this thread, thou fallest into the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone, where thou
must lie while God hath a being, if thou die in
thy present case. And doth not thy soul trem-
ble as thou readest? Do not thy tears bedew
the paper, and thy heart throb in thy bosom ?
Dost thou not yet begin to smite on thy breast,
and bethink thyself what need thou hast of a
change ? 0 what is thy heart made of ? Hast thou

136' ALLEINE'S ALARM.

not only lost all regard to God, but all love and
pity to thyself ?

0 study thy misery till thy heart cry out for
Christ as earnestly as ever a drowning man did for
a boat, or the wounded for a surgeon. Men must
come to see the danger and feel the smart of their
deadly sores and sickness, or Christ will be to them
a physician of no value. The manslayer hastens to
the city of refuge, when pursued by the avenger of
blood ; but men must be even forced and driven out
of themselves, or theyjvill not come to Christ. It
was distress and extremity that made the prodigal
think of returning. While Laodicea thinks herself
rich, increased in goods, in need of nothing, there is
little hope. She must be deeply convinced of her
wretchedness, blindness, poverty, and nakedness,
before she will come to Christ for his gold, raiment,
and eye-salve. Therefore hold the eyes of con-
science open, amplify thy misery as much as possi-
ble, do not flee the sight of it for fear it should fill
thee with terror. The sense of thy misery is but
as it were the suppuration of the wound, Avhich is
necessary to the cure. Better now to fear the
torments that abide thee, than to feel them here-
after.

Direction IV. Settle it upon thy heart that thou
must look out of thyself and away from thy own
doings for help.

Never think thy praying, reading, hearing, con-

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 137

fessing, or amending, will do the cure ; these must
be attended to, but thou art undone if thou rest in
them ; thou art a lost man if thou hope to escape
drowning on any other plank but Jesus Christ.
Thou must unlearn thyself, and renounce thine
own wisdom, thine own righteousness, thine own
strength, and throw thyself wholly upon Christ, or
thou canst not escape. While men trust in them-
selves, and establish their own righteousness, and
have confidence in the flesh, they will not come
savingly to Christ. Thou must know thy gain to
be but loss, thy strength but weakness, thy righteous-
ness rags and rottenness, before there will be an
effectual closure between Christ and thee. Can
the lifeless body shake off its grave-clothes, and
loose the bands of death ? Then mayest thou re-
cover thyself, who art dead in trespasses and sins,
and under an impossibility of serving thy Maker
acceptably in this condition. Therefore, when thou
goest to pray or meditate, or to do any of the duties
to which thou art here directed, go out of thyself,
call in the help of the Spirit, as despairing to do
any thing pleasing to God in thine own strength ;
yet neglect not duty, put thyself in the way of the
Spirit. While the eunuch was reading, then the
Holy Ghost did send Phihp to him. When the dis-
ciples were praying, when Cornelius and his friends
were heaiing, then the Holy Ghost fell upon them
and filled them all.

138 ALLEINE'S ALAR>L

Direction V. Forthwith renounce all thy sins.

If thou yield thyself to the practice of any sin,
thou art undone. In vain dost thou hope for life
by Christ, except thou depart from iniquity. For-
sake thy sins, or thou canst not find mercy. Thou
canst not be mamed to Christ except divorced from
sin. Give up the traitor, or you can have no peace
with heaven. Thou must part with thy sins or with
thy soul ; spare but one sin and God will not spare
thee. Thy sins must die, or thou must die for them.
If thou allow of one sin, though but a little, a secret
one, though thou mayest plead necessity, and have
a hundred shifts and excuses for it, the life of thy
soul must go for the life of that sin. And will it
not be dearly bought ?

0 sinner, hear and consider : if thou wilt part
with thy sins God will give thee his Christ. Is not
this a fair exchange ? I testify unto you this day,
that if you perish, it is not because there was never
a Saviour provided nor life tendered, but because,
with the Jews, you prefer the murderer before the
Saviour, sin before Christ, "and love darknoes rather
than light." Search thy heart therefore with can-
dles, as the Jews did their houses for leaven before
the passover. Labor to find out thy sins ; enter into
thy closet, and consider, What evil have I lived in ;
what duty have I neglected towards God ; what
sin have I lived in against my brother ? And now
strike the darts through the heart of thy sin, as Joab

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 139

did through Absalom's. Never stand looking upon
thy sins, nor rolling the morsel under thy tDngue,
but cast it out as poison, with fear and detestation.
Alas, what will thy sins do for thee, that thou
shouldst hesitate to part with them? They will
flatter thee, but they will undo thee and poison thee
while they please thee, and arm the justice and
wrath of the infinite God against thee. They will
open hell for thee, and pile up fuel to burn thee.
Behold the gibbet that they have prepared for thee.
0 serve them like Haman, and do upon them the
execution they would else have done upon thee.
Away with them, crucify them and let Christ only
be Lord over thee.

Direction VI. Make a solemn choice of God for
thy portion and blessedness.

With all possible devotion and veneration avouch
the Lord for thy God : set the world, with all its
glory, and pjiiut, and gallantry, with all its pleasures
and promotions, on the one hand ; and set God,
with all his infinite excellences and perfections, on
the other ; and see that thou do deliberately make
thy choice. Take up thy rest in God. Sit thee
down under his shadow. Let his promises and per-
fections turn the scale against all the world. Settle
it upon thy heart, that the Lord is an all-sufficient
portion, that thou canst not be miserable whilst thou
hast God to hve upon. Take him for thy shield
and exceeding great reward. God alone is more

140 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

than all the world ; content thyself with him. Let
others possess the preferments and glory of the
world ; place thou thy happiness in the favor of
God, and in the light of his countenance.

Poor sinner, thou hast fallen off from God, and
hast engaged his power and wrath against thee ; yet
know, that of his abundant grace he doth offer to
be thy God again in Christ. What sayest thou;
wilt thou have the Lord for thy God ? Take this
counsel, and thou shalt have him ; come to him by
Christ, renounce the idols of thy pleasures, gain,
and reputation ; let these be pulled from their
throne, and set God's interest uppermost jn thy
heart. Take him as God, to be chief in thy affec-
tions and purposes ; for he will not endure to have
any set above him. In a word, thou must take him
in all his personal relations and in all his essential
perfections.

1. In all his personal relations, God the Father
must be taken for thy Father. 0 come to him with
the prodigal : " Father, I have sinned against heaven,
and in thy sight, and am not worthy to be called
thy son ;" but since, of thy wonderful mercy, thou
art pleased to take me, that am of myself most vile,
even a beast and no man before thee, to be a child,
I solemnly take thee for my Father, commend my-
self to thy care, and trust to thy providence, and
cast my burden on thee. I depend on thy provision,
and submit to thy corrections, and trust under the

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 141

shadow of thy wings, and hide in thy chambers, and
fly to thy name. I renounce all confidence in my-
self ; I repose my confidence in thee ; I declare my
enorasfement with thee ; I will be for thee, and not
for another.

God the Son must be taken for thy Saviour, thy
Redeemer, and thy righteousness. He must be ac-
cepted, as the only way to the Father, and the only
means of life. 0 then put off the raiment of thy
captivity, put on the wedding garment, and go and
marry thyself to Christ. " Lord, I am thine, and all
I have, my body, soul, and estate. I give my heart
to thee ; I will be thine undividedly, thine everlast-
ingly. I will set thy name on all I have, and use it
only as thy goods, during thy leave, resigning all to
thee. I will have no king but thee to reign over
me. Other lords have had dominion over me ; but
now I will make mention of thy name only, and do
here take an oath of fealty to thee, promising to
serv'e and fear thee above all competitors. I disa-
vow mine own righteousness, and despair of ever
being pardoned and saved for my own duties or
graces, and lean solely on thy all-sufficient sacrifice
and intercession for pardon, and life, and acceptance
before God. I take thee for my only guide and in-
structor, resolving to be directed by thee, and to
wait for thy coimsel."

Lastly, God the Spirit must be taken for thy
sanctifier, for thy advocate, thy counsellor, thy com-

142 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

forter, the teacher of thy ignorance, the pledge and
earnest of thy inheritance. " Awake thou North
wind, and come, thou South, and blow upon my
garden." "Come, thou Spirit of the Most High;
here is a temple for thee ; here do thou rest for
ever ; dwell here ; lo, I give possession to thee, full
possession ; I send thee the keys of my heart, that
all may be thine. I give up the use of all to thee,
that every faculty and every member may be thy
instrument to Avork righteousness and do the will of
my Father who is in heaven."

2. In all his essential perfections. Consider how
the Lord hath revealed himself to you in his word.
Will you take him as such a God ? O, sinner, here
is the most blessed news that ever came to the sons
of men : " The Lord will be thy God," if thou wilt
but close with him in his excellences. Wilt thou
have the merciful, the gracious, the sin-pardoning
God to be thy God ? "0 yes," saith the sinner,
" I am undone else." But he farther tells thee, I
am the holy and sin-hating God; if thou wilt be
owned as one of my people, thou must be holy —
holy in heart, holy in life ; thou must put away aU
thy iniquities, be they ever so dear, ever so natural,
ever so necessary to the maintaining of thy worldly
interest. Unless thou wilt be at enmity with sin, I
cannot be thy God. Cast out the leaven. "Put
away the evil of thy doings ; cease to do evil ; learn
to do well." Bring forth mine enemies, or there is

DffiECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 143

no peace to be had with me. What doth thine
heart answer? "Lord, I desire to have thee as
such a God ; I desire to be holy as thou art holy,
and to be made partaker of thy holiness. I love
thee, not only for thy goodness and mercy, but for
thy holiness and purity. I take thy holiness for my''
happiness : O be to me a fountain of holiness ; set
on me the stamp and impress of thy holiness : I will
thankfully part with all my sins at thy command.
My wilful sins I do forthwith forsake ; and for mine
infirmities that cleave unto me, though I would be
rid of them, I will strive against them continually :
I detest them, and will pray against them, and never
let them have rest in my soul." Beloved, whoever
of you will thus accept the Lord, he shall be your
God.

Again, he tells you, "I am the all-suflBcient God."
Will you lay all at my feet, give up all to my dis-
posal, and take me for your only portion ? Will
you own and honor my all- sufficiency ? Will you
take me as your happiness and treasure, your hope
and bliss ? I am a sxm and a shield all in one ; will
you have me for your all ? Now what dost thou
say to this ? Doth thy soul long for the onions and
flesh-pots of Egypt ? Art thou loath to change thy
earthly happiness for a portion in God ; and though
thou wouldst be glad to have God and the world
too, yet canst thou not think of having him, and
nothing but him ; but hadst rather take up with the-

144 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

earth below, if God would but let tbee keep it as
long as thou wouldst ? This is a fearful sign. But
now, if thou art willing to sell all for the pearl of
great price ; if thine heart answer, " Lord, I desire
no other portion but thee ; take the corn, and the
wine, and the oil who will, so I may have the light
of thy countenance ; I fix upon thee for my happi-
ness ; I gladly venture myself on thee, and trust
myself with thee ; I set my hope in thee ; I take up
my rest with thee ; let me hear thee say, I am thy
God, thy salvation, and I have enough, all I wish
for ; I will make no terms with thee but for thyself ;
let me but have thee sure ; let me be able to make
my claim and see my title to thyself ; and for other
things, I leave them to thee ; give me more or less,
any thing or nothing ; I will be satisfied in my God."
Take him thus, and he is thy own.

Again, he tells you, I am the sovereign Lord ; if
you will have me for your God you must give me
the supremacy. You must not make me second to
sin or any worldly interest. If you will be my
people I must have the rule over you ; you must
not Uve at your own pleasure. Will you come
under my yoke? Will you bow to my govern-
ment ? Will you submit to my discipline, to my
word, to my rod? Sinner, what sayest thou to
this? "Lord, I had rather be at thy command
than live at my own will ; I had rather have thy
will to be done than mine ; I approve of and con-

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 145

sent to thy laws, and account it my privilege to be
under them. And though the flesh rebel, and often
bieak its bounds, I have resolved to take no other
Lord but thee. I -vvillingly take the oath of thy
supremacy, and acknowledge thee for my Sovereign,
and resolve all my days to pay the tribute of wor-
ship, obedience, love, and service to thee, and to live
to thee to the end of my life." This is a right ac-
ceptance of God.

To be short, he tells you, I am the true and
faithful God. If you will have me for your God
you must be content to trust me. Will you venture
yourselves upon my word, and depend on my faith-
fulness, and take my bond for your security ? Will
you be content to follow me in poverty, and re-
proach, and affliction here ; and to tarry till the
next world for your preferment ? Will you be con-
tent to labor and suffer, and to tarry for your returns
till the resurrection of tlfe just ? My promise will
not always be instantly fulfilled ; will you have the
patience to wait ? Now, beloved, what say you to
this ? Will you have this God for your God ? Will
you be content to live by faith, and trust him for an
unseen happiness, an unseen heaven, an unseen
glory? Do your hearts answer, "Lord, we will
venture ourselves upon thee ; we commit ourselves
to thfie ; we cast ourselves upon thee ; we know
whom we have trusted ; we are willing to take thy
word ; we prefer thy promises before our own pos-

Allelnt'i Alum. ^ v

146 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

sessions, and the hopes of heaven before all the en-
joynaents of earth ; we Avill do thy pleasure — what
thou wilt here, so that we may have but thy faith-
ful promise for heaven hereafter." If you can in
truth, and upon deliberation, thus accept of God,
he will be yours. Thus there must be, in a right
conversion to God, a closing with him suitable to
his excellences. But when men close with his
mercy, but yet love sin, hating holiness and purity ;
or will take him for their benefactor, but not for
their sovereign ; or for their patron, and not for
their portion; this is no thorough and sound con-
version.

Direction VII. Accept of the Lord Jesus in all
his offices, as thine.

Upon these terms Christ may be had. Sinner,
thou hast undone thyself, and art plunged into the
ditch of most deplorable misery, out of which thou
art never able to escape ; but Jesus Christ is able
and ready to help thee, and he freely tenders him-
self to thee. Be thy sins ever so many, ever so
great, or of ever so long continuance, yet thou shalt
be most certainly pardoned and saved, if thou dost
not wretchedly neglect the offer that in the name
of God is here made to thee. The Lord Jesus
calleth thee to look to him and be saved. " Come
unto him, and he will in nowise cast thee out."
Yea, he beseecheth thee to be reconciled. He
crieth in the streets ; he knocketh at thy door ; he

DraECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 147

inviteth thee to accept of him, and hve with him.
If thou diest, it is because thou wouldst not come
to him for life.

Now accept of an offered Christ, and thou art
made for ever ; now give thy consent to him, and
the match is made ; all the world cannot hinder it.
Do not stand off because of thy unworthiness. I
tell thee, nothing can undo thee but thine own un-
willingness. Speak, man ; art thou desirous of the
honor ? Wilt thou have Christ in all his relations
to be thine, thy king, thy priest, thy prophet ? Wilt
thou have him and bear his cross ? Take not Christ
without consideration, but sit down first and count
the cost. Wilt thou lay all at his feet ? Wilt thou
be content to run all hazards with him ? Wilt thou
take thy lot with him, fall where it will ? Wilt thou
"deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow him?"
Art thou deliberately, understandingly, freely de-
termined to cleave to him in all times and conditions ?
If so, thou shalt never perish, but art passed from
death unto life. Here lies the main point of thy
salvation, that thou be found in thy covenant-closure
with Jesus Christ ; and therefore, if thou love thy-
self, see that thou be faithful to God and thy soul
here.

Direction VIII. Resign all thy powers and facul-
ties, and thy whole interest to be his.

"They gave their own selves unto the Lord."
" Present your bodies a living sacrifice." The Lord

148 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

seeks not yours, but you ; resign therefore thy body,
with all its members, to him ; and thy soul, with all
its powers, that he may be glorified in thy body and
in thy spirit, which are his.

In a right closing with Christ all thy faculties are
given up to him. Thy judgment says, " Lord, thou
art worthy of all acceptation, chief of ten thousand :
happy is the man that findeth thee. All the things
that are to be desired are not to be compared with
thee." Prov. 3 : 13-15. The understanding lays
aside its corrupt reasonings and cavils, and its prej-
udices against Christ and his ways. It is now past
questioning, and determines for Christ against all
the world. It concludes it is " good to be here,"
and sees such a treasure in this field, such a value
in this pearl, as is worth all. Matt. 13 : 44-46.
" 0 here is the richest prize that ever man was
offered; here is the most sovereign remedy that
ever ^mercy prepared ; he is worthy of my esteem,
worthy of my choice, worthy of my love, worthy to
be embraced, adored, admired, for evermore. Rev.
5 : 12. I approve of his articles: his terms are
righteous and reasonable, full of equity and mercy."
Again, the will resigns. It stands no longer waver-
ing, but is peremptorily determined : " Lord, thy
love hath overcome me, thou hast won me, and thou
shalt have me. Come in. Lord ; to thee I freely
open ; I consent to be saved in thine own way.
Thou shalt have any thing — nay, have all, let me

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 149

have but thee." The memory gives up to Christ :
" Lord, here is a storehouse for thee ; out with this
trash ; lay in the treasure ; let me be a repository
of thy truth, thy promises, thy providences." The
conscience comes in : " Lord, I will ever side with
thee ; I will be thy faithful registrar ; I will warn
when the sinner is tempted, and smite when thou
art offended ; I will witness for thee, and judge for
thee, and guide into thy ways, and will never let
sin have quiet in this soul." The affections also
come in to Christ : " 0," saith Love, " I am sick for
thee." "0," saith Desire, "now I have what I
sought for ; here is the Desire of nations ; here is
bread for me, and balm for me : all that I want."
Fear bows the knee with awe and veneration :
" "Welcome, Lord, to thee will I pay my homage ;
thy word and rod shall command my motions ; thee
will I reverence and adore ; before thee will I fall
doAvn and worship." Grief likewise puts in : "Lord,
thy displeasure and thy dishonor, thy people's ca-
lamities and my own iniquities, shall be what shall
set me a weeping. I will mourn when* thou art
offended ; I will weep when thy cause is wounded."
Anger likewise comes in for Christ : " Lord, nothing
so enrages me as my folly against thee, that I should
be so besotted as to hearken to the flatteries of sin
and the temptations of Satan against thee." Hatred,
too, will side with Christ : " I protest mortal enmity
to thine enemies, that I never will be a friend to thy

150 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

foes ; I vow an eternal quarrel with every sin : I
will give no quarter ; I will make no peace." Thus
let all thy powers yield to Jesus Christ.

Again, thou must give up thy whole interest -to
him. If there be any thing that thou keepest back
from Christ, it will be thy undoing. Luke 14 : 33.
Unless thou wilt forsake all, in preparation and
resolution of thy heart, thou canst not be his dis-
ciple. Thou must hate father and mother, yea,
and thine own life also, in comparison with Him,
and as far as it stands in competition with him. In
a word, thou must give him thyself, and all that
thou hast, without reservation, or else thou canst
have no part in him.

DiRKCTioN IX. Make choice of the laws of
Christ as the rule of thy words, thoughts, and
actions.

This is the true convert's choice. But here re-
member these three rules : 1. You must choose
them all, there is no getting to heaven by a partial
obedience. None may think it enough to take up
with the -cheap and easy part of religion, and let
alone the duties that * are costly and self-denying,
and oppose the interests of the flesh ; you must
take all or none. A sincere convert, though he
makes most conscience of the greatest sins and
weightiest duties, yet he makes true conscience of
little sins and of all duties. 2. You must choose
Christ's laws for all times, for prosperity and ad-

DIBECnONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 151

versity. A true convert is resolved in bis course ;
he will stand to his choice, and will not set his back
to the wind, and be of the religion of the times.
"I have stuck to thy testimonies; I have inclined
my heart to perform thy statutes always, even to
the end. Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage
for ever. I will have respect to thy statutes con-
tinually." 3. This must be done deliberately and
understandingly. The disobedient son said, " I go,
sir ; but he went not." How fairly did they promise,
" All that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee
we will do it !" And it is likely they spake as they
meant. But Avhen it came to the trial it was found
that there was not such a heart in them as to do
what they had promised.

If you would be sincere in closing with the laws
and the ways of Christ, study the meaning, and
breadth, and extent of them. Remember that they
are spiritual ; they reach the very thoughts and in-
clinations of the heart ; so that, if you will walk by
this rule, your very thoughts and inward motions
must be under government. Again, they are very
strict and self-denying, quite contrary to your natu-
ral inclinations. . You must take the strait gate, the
narrow way, and be content to have the flesh curbed
from the liberty it desires. In a word, they are
very large, for " thy commandments are exceeding
broad."

Rest not in generals, for there is much deceit in

153 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

them, but bring down thine heart to the particular
commands of Christ. Those Jews, in the prophet,
seemed as Avell resolved as any in the world, and
called God to witness that they meant as they said :
but they rested in generals ; when God's command
crosses their inclination, they will not obey. Art
thou resolved, in the strength of Christ, to set upon
the conscientious practice of every duty that thou
findest to be required of thee, and to set against
every sin that thou findest to be forbidden ? This
is the way to be sound in God's statutes, that thou
mayest never be ashamed.

Observe the special duties that thy heart is most
against, and the special sins that it is most inclined
to, and see whether it be truly resolved to perform
the one and forego the other. What sayest thou to
thy bosom sin, thy gainful sin ? What sayest thou
to costly, hazardous, and flesh-displeasing duties?
If thou haltest here, and dost not resolve, by the
grace of God, to cross the flesh and be in earnest,
thou art unsound.

Direction X. Let all this be completed in a
solemn covenant between God and thy soul.*

Set apart some time, more than once, to be spent
in secret before the Lord — in seeking earnestly his
special assistance and gracious acceptance of thee—
in searching thy heart, whether thou art sincerely
willing to forsake all thy sins, and to resign thyself,
body and soul, unto God and his service ; to serve

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 153

him in holiness and righteousness all the days of
thy life.

Compose thy spirit into the most serious frame
possible, suitable to a transaction of so high im-
portance. Lay hold on the covenant of God, and
rely on his promise of giving grace and strength,
whereby thou mayest be enabled to perform thy
promise. Trust not to thine own strength, to the
strength of thine own resolutions ; but take hold on
his strength.

Being thus prepared, on some convenient time
set apart for the purpose, enter upon the work, and
solemnly, as in the presence of the Lord, fall down
on thy knees, and open thy heart to him in words
like those of the covenant, or soliloquy, annexed to
these directions.

Direction XL Take heed of delaying thy con-
version, but make a speedy, an immediate surrender
of thy heart to God.

"I made haste, and delayed not." Remember
and tremble at the sad instance of the foolish vir-
gins, that came not till the " door of mercy was
shut ;" and of a convinced Felix, who put off Paul
to another season ; and we never find that he had
such another season. O come in while it is called
to-day, lest thou shouldst be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin ; lest the day of grace should be
over, and the things which belong to thy peace
should be "hidden from thine eyes." Now mercy

154 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

is wooing thee ; now Christ is waiting to be gracious
to thee, and the Spirit of God is striving with thee ;
now ministers are calling ; now conscience is stirring ;
now Christ is to be had, if accepted. 0 strike in
with the offers of grace ; now or never. If thou
make light of this offer, God may swear in his wrath,
thou shalt not taste of his supper.

Direction XII. Attend conscientiously upon the
word, as the means appointed for thy conversion.

Attend, I say, not customarily, but conscien-
tiously ; with this desire, design, hope, and expecta-
tion, that thou mayest be converted by it. To every
sermon thou hearest come with this thought : " 0
I hope God will now come in ; I hope this day may
be the time, this may be the man by whom God
will brincf me home." When thou art cominor to
the privileges of God's house, lift up thy heart thus
to God : " Lord, let this be the Sabbath, let this be
the season wherein I may receive renewing grace.
0 let it be said that this day such a one was born
unto thee."

Objection. Thou wilt say, I have been long a
hearer of the word, and yet it hath not been effect-
ual to my conversion. Answer. Yea ; but thou
hast not. attended upon it in this manner, as a
means of thy conversion, nor Avith this design, nor
praying for and expecting the happy effect from it.

Direction XIII. Strike in Avith the Spirit when
he begins to work upon thy heart.

DIHECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 155

When he works convictions, 0 do not stifle them,
but join in with him, and beg the Lord to give you
saving conversion. " Quench not the Spirit ;" do
not reject him, do not resist him. Beware of stifling
convictions with evil company or worldly business.
When thou art in anguish on account of sin and
fears about thy eternal state, beg of God that you
may have peace only in thoroughly renouncing all
sin, loathing it in thy inmost soul, and giving thy
whole heart, without reserve, to Christ. Say to
him, " Strike home, Lord ; leave not the work in the
midst. 0 go to the bottom of my corruption, and
let out the life-blood of my* sins." Thus yield up
thyself to the working of the Spirit, and hoist thy
sails to his gusts.

Direction XIV. Set upon the constant and dili-
gent use of serious and fervent prayer.

He that neglects prayer is a profane and unsanc-
tified sinner. He that is not constant in prayer is
but a hypocrite, unless the omission be contrary to
his ordinary course, under the force of some instant
temptation. This is one of the first things conver-
sion appears in, that it sets men a praying. There-
fore set to this duty ; let not one day pass over thee
wherein thou hast not, morning and evening, set
apart some time for solemn prayer in secret. Call
thy family also together daily and duly to worship
God with thee. Woe be unto thee, if thou be found
among the families that call not upon God's name.

156 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

But cold and lifeless devotions will not reach half
way to heaven. Be fervent and importunate. Im-
portunity will carry it; but without violence the
kingdom of heaven will not be taken. Thou must
strive to enter, and wrestle with tears and supplica-
tions, as Jacob, if thou wouldst gain the blessing.
Thou art undone for ever without grace, and there-
fore thou must set to it, and resolve to take no
denial. That man who is fixed in this resolution
says, "Well, I must have grace, or I will never
give over till I have grace ; I will never cease
earnestly pleading, and striving with God and my
own heart, till he doth renew me by the power of
his grace."

Direction XV. Forsake thy evil company, and
forbear the occasions of sin.

Thou wilt never be turned from sin till thou wilt
decline and forego the temptations of sin. I never
expect thy conversion from sin, unless thou art
brought to some self-denial, so as to flee the occa-
sions. If thou wilt be nibbling at the bait, and
playing on the brink, and tampering with the snare,
thy soul will surely be taken. Where God doth
expose men, in his providence, unavoidably to temp-
tation, and the occasions are such as we cannot re-
move, we may expect special assistance in the use
of his meaiis ; but when we tempt God by running
into danger, he will not engage to support us when
we are tempted. And, of all temptations, one of

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 157

the most fatal and pernicious is evil companions. 0
what hopeful beginnings have these often stifled!
0 the souls, the estates, the families, the towns, that
these have ruined ! How many poor sinners have
been enlightened and convinced, and been just ready-
to escape the snare of the devil, and have even
escaped it; and yet wicked company has pulled
them back at last, and made them seven-fold more
the children of hell ! In a word, I have no hopes
of thee, except thou wilt shake off thy evil com-
pany. Thy life depends upon it : forsake this, or
thou canst not live. Wilt thou be worse than the
ass of Balaam, to run on when thou seest the Lord
with a drawn sword in the way ? Let this sentence
be written in capitals upon thy conscience : " A com-
panion OF FOOLS SHALL BE DESTROYED." The Lord

hath spoken it, and who shall reverse it ?

And wilt thou run upon destruction, when God
himself doth forewarn thee? If God doth ever
change thy heart, it will appear in the change of
thy company. O fear and flee the gulf by which
%o many thousand souls have been swallowed up in
perdition. It will be hard for thee indeed to make
thy escape. Thy companions will be mocking thee
out of thy religion, and will study to fill thee with
prejudices against strictness, as ridiculous and com-
fortless. They will be flattering thee and alluring
thee ; but remember the warnings of the Holy
Ghost: "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent

158 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

thou not. If they say, Come with us, cast in thy
lot among us ; walk thou not in the way with them,
refrain thy foot from their path ; avoid it, pass not
by it, turn from it, and pass away. For the way
of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what
they stumble. They lie in wait for their own blood,
they lurk privily for their own lives." My soul is
moved within me to see how many of my hearers
and readers are likely to perish, both they and their
houses, by this wretched mischief, even the haunting
of such places and company, whereby they are
drawn into sin. Once more I admonish you, as
Moses did Israel : " Depart, I pray you, from the
tents of these wicked men." 0 fly them as you
would those that had the plague-sores running in
their foreheads. These are the devil's panders and
decoys ; and if thou dost not make thy escape they
will draw thee into perdition, and will prove thy
eternal ruin.

Direction XVI. Set apart a day to humble thy
soul in secret by fasting and prayer, to work a sense
of thy sins and miseries upon thy heart. Read
some faithful exposition of the decalogue, and
write down the duties omitted and sins committed
by thee against every commandment, and so make
a catalogue of thy sins, and with shame and sorrow
spread them before the Lord ; and if thy heart be
truly Avilling, join thyself to the Lord in a solemn
covenant, like that hereto annexed.

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 159

A SHORT SOLILOQUY.

What meanest tliou, 0 my soul, to go on thus ;
art thou in league with hell ; hast thou made a
covenant with death ; art thou in love with thy
misery ? " Is it good for thee to be here ?" Alas,
what shall I do ; shall I go on in my sinful ways ?
Then certain damnation will be my end. And shall
I be so besotted as to go and sell my soul to the
flames for a little ale and a little ease ; for a little
pleasure, or gain, or satisfaction to my flesh ? Shall
I linger any longer in this wretched state ? No ;
if I tarry here I die. "What then ? Is there no
help, no hope ? None, except I turn. But is there
any remedy for such woful misery ; any mercy, after
such provoking iniquity ? Yes, as sure as God's
oath is true, I shall have pardon and mercy yet, if
immediately, and unfeignedly, and unreservedly, I
turn by Christ to him.

I thank thee upon the bended knees of my soul,
0 most merciful Jehovah, that thy patience hath
waited for me hitherto ; for, hadst thou taken me
away in this state, I had perished for ever. And
now I adore thy grace, and accept the off"ers of thy
mercy ; I renounce all my sins, and resolve by thy
grace to set myself against them, and to follow thee
in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

Who am I, Lord, that I should make any claim
unto thee, or have any part or portion in thee?

160 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

Yet, since thou boldest forth the golden sceptre, I
am bold to come and touch. To despair, would be
to disparage thy mercy ; and to stand off when thou
biddest me come, would be at once to ruin myself
and rebel against thee, under the pretence of hu-
mility. Therefore I bow my soul to thee, and with
all possible thankfulness accept thee as mine, and
give up myself to thee as thine. Thou shalt be
Sovereign over me, "my King and my God :" thou
shalt be on the throne, and all my poAvers shall bow
to thee; they shall come and worship before thy
feet. Thou shalt be my portion, 0 Lord, and I will
rest in thee.

Thou callest for my heart. 0 that it were any
way fit for thine acceptance. I am unworthy, 0
Lord, everlastingly unworthy to be thine ; but since
thou wilt have it so, I freely give up my heart to
thee : take it ; it is thine : 0 that it were better.
But, Lord, I put it into thine hand, who alone canst
mend it : mould it after thine own heart ; make it
as thou wouldst have it, holy, humble, heavenly,
soft, tender, flexible ; and write thy law upon it.

"Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly;" enter in tri-
umphantly : take me up to thee for ever : I give up
myself to thee ; I come to thee as the only way to the
Father, as the only Mediator, the means ordained to
bring me to God, I have destroyed myself, but in
thee is my help ; " save. Lord, or I perish." I come
to thee worthy to die and to be damned. Never

DIRECTIONS TO THE UNCONVERTED. 161

was the hire more due to the servant, never was
penny more due to the laborer, than death and hell,
my just wages, are due to me for my sins. But I
flee to thy merits ; I trust alone to the value and
virtue of thy sacrifice, and the prevalence of thy in-
tercession. I submit to thy teaching ; I make choice
of thy government. " Stand open, ye everlasting
doors, that the King of glory may come in."

0 thou Spirit of the Most High, the comforter
and sanctifier of thy chosen, come in with all thy
glorious train, all thy courtly attendants, thy fruits
and graces ; let me be thine habitation ; I can give
thee only what is thine own already ; but here, with
the poor widow, I cast my two mites, my soul and
my body, into thy treasury, fully resigning them up
to thee, to be sanctified by thee, to be servants to
thee. They shall be thy patients ; cure thou their
malady. They shall be thy subjects ; govern thou
their motions. Too long have I served the world ;
too long have I hearkened to Satan ; but now I re-
nounce them all, and will be ruled by thy dictates
and directions, and guided by thy counsel. "

0 blessed Trinity : 0 glorious Unity ! I dehver
up myself to thee : receive me ; write thy name, 0
Lord, upon me, and upon all that I have, as thy
property ; set thy mark upon me, upon every mem-
ber of my body, and on every faculty of my soul.
I have chosen thy precepts ; thy laAV will I keep in
mine eye, and study to obey it. According to this

AUeiiic>iAUnn. 1 1

162 ALLEINK'S ALAR»L

rule do I resolve, through thy grace, to walk ; after
this law shall my whole man be governed; and
though I shall not perfectly keep one of thy com-
mandments, yet I will allow myself in the breach
of none. I know my flesh will hang back ; but I
resolve, in the power of thy grace, to cleave to thee
and thy holy ways, whatever it costs me. I am
sure I cannot come off a loser by thee, and there-
fore I will be content with reproach, and difficulties,
and hardships here ; and will " deny myself, and
take up my cross, and follow thee." Lord Jesus,
thy yoke is easy, thy cross is welcome : as it is the
way to thee, I lay aside all hopes of worldly happi-
ness ; I will be content to tarry till I come to thee.
Let me be poor, and low, and despised here, so I
may but be admitted to live and reign with thee
hereafter. Lord, thou hast my heart and hand to
this agreement : be it as the laws of the Medes and
Persians, never to be reversed. To this will I stand ;
in this resolution, through grace, I will live and die ;
" I have sworn," and will perform it, that " I will
keep thy righteous judgments ;" I have given my
free consent ; I have made my everlasting choice :
Lord Jesus, confirm the contract. Amen.

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 163

CHAPTER VII.

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION.

Though what is already said of the "necessity of
conversion," and of the "miseries of the uncon-
verted," might be sufficient to induce any consid-
erate mind to resolve upon a present turning unto
God ; yet, knowing what a piece of desperate obsti-
nacy and untractableness the heart of man naturally
is, I have thought it necessary to add, to the means
of conversion and directions for a covenant closure
with God and Christ, some motives to persuade you
to be reconciled to God.

Lord, fail me not now, at my last attempts. If
any soul hath read hitherto, and is yet untouched,
now, Lord, fasten on him, and do thy work ; now
take him by the heart, overcome him, persuade
him, till he say, Thou hast prevailed, for thou art
stronger than I. Lord, didst not thou make me a
fisher of men, and have I toiled all this while and
caught nothing? Alas, that I should have spent
my strength for naught ! and now I am casting my
last; Lord Jesus, stand thou upon the shore, and
direct how and where I shall spread my net ; and
let me so enclose with arguments the souls I seek,
that they may not be able to get out. Now, Lord,
for a multitude of souls ; now for a full draught. 0

164 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen
me this once, 0 God.

But I turn me unto you.

Men and brethren, heaven and earth call upon
you ; yea, hell itself preaches the doctrine of re-
pentance unto you. The ministers of the churches
labor for you. The angels of heaven wait for you,
for your repenting and turning xmto God. 0 sinner,
why should devils laugh at thy destruction, and
deride thy misery, and sport themselves with thy
folly ? This will be thy case, except thou turn.
And were it not better thou shouldst be a joy to
angels, than a laughing-stock and sport for de^dls ?
Verily, if thou wouldst but come in, the heavenly
hosts would take up their anthems and sing, " Glory
to God in the highest ;" the morning stars would
sing together, and all the sons of God shout for
joy, and celebrate this new creation as they did the
first. Thy repentance would, as it were, make a
holiday in heaven, and the glorious spirits would
rejoice, in that there is a new brother added to their
society, another heir born to the Lord, and the lost
son received safe and sound. The true penitent's
>-tears are indeed the wine that maketh glad both God
and man.

If it be little that men and angels would rejoice
at thy conversion, know thou that God himself
would "rejoice over thee, even with singing," and
" rest in his love." Never did Jacob with such joy

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 165

weep over the neck of his Joseph, as thy heavenly
Father would rejoice over thee upon thy coming to
him. Look over the story of the Prodigal Son.
Methinks I see how the aged father lays aside his
state and forgetteth his years ; behold, how he run-
neth ! 0 the haste that mercy makes : the sinner
makes not half that speed. Methinks I see how his
bowels move, how his compassions yearn. How
quick- sighted is love ! Mercy spies him a great
way oflf ; . forgets his riotous courses, unnatural re-
bellion, horrid unthankfulness — not a word of these
— and receives him with open arms, clasps him about
his neck, kisses him ; calls for the fatted calf, the
best robe, the ring, the shoes, the best cheer in
heaven's store, the best attire in heaven's wardrobe.
Yea, the joy cannot be held in his own breast.
Others must be called to participate. The friends
sympathize ; but none knows the joy the father has
in his new-bom son, whom he hath received from
the dead. Methinks I hear the music at a distance.
O the melody of the heavenly choristers ! I cannot
learn the song. Rev. 14 : 3, but methinks I overhear
the burden, at which all the harmonious choir with
one consent strike sweetly in: "For this my son
was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and is
found." I need not farther explain the parable :
God is the father : Christ is the provision ; his
righteousness the robe ; his grace the ornaments ;
ministers, saints, and angels, the friends and ser-

166 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

vants ; and thou that readest, if thou wilt but un-
feignedly repent and turn, the welcome prodigal, the
happy instance of this grace, the blessed subject
of this joy and love.

0 rock ; 0 adamant ! What, not moved yet ; not
yet resolved to turn forthwith and to close with
mercy? I will try thee yet once again. If one
were sent to thee from the dead, wouldst thou be
persuaded? Why, hear the voice from the dead,
from the damned, crying to thee that thou shouldst
repent : "I pray thee that thou wouldst send him
to my father's house ; for I have five brethren ; that
he may testify to them, lest they also come into this
place of torment : if one went to them from the
dead, they will repent." Hear, 0 man ; thy pre-
decessors in impenitence preach to thee from the
infernal flames, that thou shouldst repent. 0 look
down into the bottomless pit ; seest thou how the
smoke of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever ?
What thinkest thou of those chains of darkness?
Canst thou be content to burn ? Seest thou how
the worm gnaweth, how the fire rageth? What
sayest thou to that gulf of perdition ; wilt thou take
up thine habitation there ? O lay thine ear to the
door of hell : hearest thou the curses and blasphe-
mies, the weepings and wailings, how they lament
their follies and curse their day? How do they
roar and gnash their teeth ; how deep their groans ;
how inconceivable their miseries ! If the shrieks of

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 167

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were so terrible, when
the earth clave asunder, and opened its mouth and
swallowed them up, and all that appertained to
them, that all Israel fled at the cry of them, 0 how
fearful would the cry be, if God should take off" the
covering from the mouth of hell, and let the cry of
the damned ascend in all its terror among the chil-
dren of men ! And of all their moans and miseries
this is the piercing, killing emphasis and burden,
" For ever ; for ever !"

As God liveth that made thy soul, thou art but
a few hours distant from all this, except thou "re-
pent and be converted."

0, I am even lost and swallowed up in the abun-
dance of those arguments that I might suggest.
If there be any point of wisdom in all the world, it
is to repent and come in". If there be any thing
righteous, any thing reasonable, this is it. If there
be any thing that may be called madness and folly,
and any thing that may be counted sottish, absurd,
brutish, and unreasonable, it is this, " to go on in
thine unconverted state." Let me beg of thee, as
thou wouldst not willingly destroy thyself, sit down
and weigh, besides what has been said, these follow-
ing motives, and let conscience say if it be not most
reasonable that thou shouldst " repent and turn."

1. The God that made thee, most graciously in-
vites thee. His most sweet and merciful nature in-
vites thee. 0 the kindness of God, his boimdless

168 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

compassion, his tender mercies ! As the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are his ways above
our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts.
" He is full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffer-
ing, and plenteous in mercy." This is a great argu-
ment to persuade sinners to come in : " Turn unto
the Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, of great kindness, and repenteth hira
of the evil."

If God»would not repent of the evil, it would be
some discouragement to our repenting. If there .
were no hope of mercy, it would be no wonder that
rebels should stand out ; but never had subjects
such a gracious prince, such pity, patience, and
clemency to deal with, as you have. " Who is a
God like unto thee,' that pardoneth iniquity ?"
Micah 7:18. 0 sinners, see what a God you have
to deal with : if you will but turn, ** he will turn
again, and have compassion on you ; he will subdue
your iniquities, and cast all your sins into the depths
of the sea." "Return unto me, saith the Lord of
hosts, and I will return unto you." Sinners do not
fail in that they have too high thoughts of God's
mercies, but in that, 1. They overlook his justice.
2. They promise themselves mercy out of God's
way. His mercies are beyond all imagination ;
great mercies, manifold mercies, Neh. 9:19, tender
mercies, sure mercies, everlasting mercies ; and all
is thy own, if thou wilt but turn. Art thou willing

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 169

to come in ? The Lord hath laid aside his terror
and erected a throne of grace. He holds forth the
golden sceptre : touch and live. Would a merciful
man slay his enemy vrhen prostrate at his feet,
acknowledging his wrong, begging pardon, and
offering to enter with him into a covenant of peace ?
Much less will the merciful God. Study his name.
Exodus 34:7. " Keeping mercy for thousands, for-
giving iniquity and transgression and sin." Also
read experience, Neh. 9 : 1*7.

His soul- encouraging calls and promises invite
thee. Ah, what an earnest suitor is mercy to thee ;
how lovingly, how instantly, it calleth after thee ;
how earnestly it wooeth thee ! " Return, thou
backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not
cause my anger to fall upon you ; for I am merciful,
saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever ;
only acknowledge thine iniquity. Turn, 0 back-
sliding children, saith the Lord ; return, and I will
heal thy backslidings. Thou hast played the harlot
with many lovers ; yet return unto me, saith the
Lord." " As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he
turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from
your evil ways ; for why will ye die, 0 house of
Israel?" " If the wicked will turn from all his sins
that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes,
and do that which is lawful and right, he shall
surely live, he shall not die. All the transgressions

170 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned
unto him ; in his righteousness that he hath done,
he shall live. Repent, and turn you from all your
transgressions ; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, and
make you a new heart and a new spirit ; for why
will ye die, 0 house of Israel ? For I have no pleasure
in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God :
wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."

0 melting, gracious words : the voice of God, and
not of a man ! This is not the manner of men, for
the offended sovereign to sue to the oflFending
traitorous rebel. O how doth mercy follow thee,
and plead with thee ! Is not thy heart broken yet ?
0 that " to-day you would hear his voice."

2. The doors of heaven are thrown open to thee,
the everlasting gates are set wide for thee, and an
abundant entrance into the kingdom of heaven is
administered to thee.

Christ now addresses tliee, and calls upon thee
to arise and take possession of this good land.
View the glory of the other world, as set forth in
the map of the Gospel ; get thee up into the Pisgah
of the promises, and lift up thine eyes northward,
and southward, and eastward, and westward, and
see the good land that is beyond Jordan, and that
goodly mountain ; behold the Paradise of God,
watered • with the streams of glory. Arise and
walk through the land, in the length of it, and in

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 171

the breadth of it; for the land which thou seest,
the Lord will give it to thee for ever, if thou wilt
but return. Let me say to thee, as Paul to Agrippa,
" Believest thou the prophets ?" If thou believest
indeed, do but view what glorious things are spoken
of the city of God, and know that all this is here
tendered in the name of God to thee. As verily as
God is true, it shall be for ever thine, if thou wilt
but thoroughly turn.

Behold the city of pure transparent gold, whose
foundations are garnished with all manner of precious
stones, whose gates are pearls, whose light is glory,
whose temple is God. Believest thou this? If
thou dost, art thou not beside thyself, that wilt not
take possession when the gates are thrown open to
thee, and thou art bid to enter ? 0 ye sons of folly,
will ye embrace the dunghill and refuse the king-
dom? Behold, the Lord takes you up into the
mountain, shows you the kingdom of heaven and all
the glory thereof, and tells you, All this will I give
you, if you will but return unto me ; if you will
submit to mercy, accept my Son, and serve me in
righteousness and holiness. " 0 fools, and slow of
heart to believe!" Will you seek and serve the
world, and neglect eternal glory ? What, not enter
into Paradise when the flaming sword, which was
once set to keep you out, is now used to drive you
in ? But you will say I am uncharitable, to think
you infidels and unbelievers. What, then, shall I

173 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

think of you ? Either you are desperate unbehevers,
that do not credit it ; or beside yourselves, that you
know and beheve the excellence and eternity of this
glory, and yet do so fearfully neglect it.

Do but attend to what is offered you: a blessed
kingdom, a "kingdom of glory," a "kingdom of
righteousness," a " kmgdom of peace," and an
" everlasting kingdom." Here thou shalt dwell,
here thou shalt reign for ever, and the Lord shall
seat thee on a throne of glory, and with his own
hand shall set the royal diadem upon thine head,
and give thee a crown — not of thorns, for there shall
be no sinning nor suffering there ; not of gold, for
this shall be viler than the dirt in that day ; but a
"crown of life," a "crown of righteousness," a
"crown of glory," yea, "thou shalt put on glory
as a robe," and shalt "shine like the sun in the
firmament, in the glory of thy Father," Look now
upon thy worthless flesh. This flesh, which is mere
dust and ashes, shall be brighter than the stars. In
short, thou shalt be made like unto the " angels of
God," and " behold his face in righteousness." Look
in now and tell me, Dost thou yet believe ? if not,
conscience must pronounce thee an infidel ; for it is
the very " word of God" that I speak.

But if thou sayest thou believest, let me next
know thy resolution. Wilt thou embrace this for
thy happiness ? Wilt thou forego thy sinful gains,
thy forbidden pleasures ? Wilt thou trample on the

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 173

world's esteem, and stop thy ears to its flatteries,
and wrest thee out of its embraces ? Wilt thou be
content to take up with reproach and poverty, if
they lie in the way to heaven, and follow the Lord
with humble self-denial, in a mortified and flesh-
displeasing life ? If so, all is thine, and that for ever.

And is not the ofi'er a fair one ? Is it not just
that he should be damned that will go on and perish,
when all this may be had by taking it ? "Wilt thou
take God at his word ; wilt thou let go thy hold of
the world, and rid thy hands of thy sins, and lay
hold on eternal life? If not, let conscience tell
thee whether thou art not beside thyself, that thou
shouldst neglect so happy a choice, by which thou
mightest be made happy for ever.

3. God will settle unspeakable privileges at present
upon thee." Though the full of your blessedness
shall be reserved till hereafter, yet God will give
you no httle things in hand. He will redeem you
from your thraldom. He will pluck you from the
paw of the lion. The serpent shall bruise thy heel,
but thou shalt bruise his head. He shall deliver
you from this present evil world. Prosperity shall
not destroy you ; adversity shall not separate him
and you. He will redeem you from the power of
the grave, and make the king of terrors a messenger
of peace to you. He will take out the curse from
the cross, and make affliction the refining-pot, the
fan, the medicine, to blow off" the chaffs, purify the

174 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

metal, and cleanse the mind. He will save you
from the arrest of the law, and turn the curse into
a blessing to you. He hath the keys of hell and of
death, and shutteth and no man openeth, and he
will shut its mouth, as once he did the lions', that
you shall not be hurt of the second death.

Besides, he will not only save you from misery,
but install you into unspeakable prerogatives. He
will bestow himself upon you ; he will be a friend
and a father unto you. He will be a sun and a
shield to you. In a word, he will be a God to you.
And what can be said more ? What may you ex-
pect that a God should do for you, and be to you ?
That he will be, that he will do. She that marries
a prince expects he should do for her like a prince,
that she may Uve in suitable state, and have an
answerable dowry : he that hath a king for his
father or a friend, expects he should do for him
like a king. Alas, the kings and monarchs of the
earth, so much above you, are but like the painted
butterflies amongst the rest of their kind, or the
fair colored palmer- worm amongst the rest of the
worms, if compared with God. As he infinitely
exceeds the glory and power of his glittering dust,
so he will, beyond all proportion, exceed in doing
for his favorites whatever princes can do for theirs.
He will " give you grace and glory, and withhold
no good thing from you." He will take you for his
sons and daughters, and make you heirs of his

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 175

promises, and establish his everlasting covenant with
you. He will justify you from all that law, con-
science, and Satan can charge upon you. He will
give you free access into his presence, and accept
your person, and receive your prayers. He will
abide in you, and hold a constant and friendly com-
munion with you. His ear shall be open, his door
open, his store open, at all times to you. His bless-
ing shall rest upon you, and he will make your ene-
mies to serve you, and work out " all things for good
unto you."

4. The terms of mercy are brought as low as pos-
sible to you. God has stooped as low to sinners as
with honor he can. He will not be the author of
sin, nor stain the glory of his holiness : and how
could he come lower than he has, unless he should
do this?

God does not impose any thing unreasonable or
impossible, as a condition of life, upon you. Two
things were necessary to be done, according to the
tenor of the first covenant. 1. That we should
fully satisfy the demands of justice for past offences.
2. That we should perform personally, perfectly,
and perpetually, the whole law for the time to
come. By our sins we render salvation through
either of these ways impossible. But behold God's
gracious provision in both. He does not insist upon
satisfaction : he is content to take of the Surety,
and he of his own providing too, what he might

176 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

have exacted from you. " All things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation :
to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them ; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciUation." He declares himself to have re-
ceived a ransom ; and that he expects nothing but
that you should accept his Son, " who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanc-
tification, and redemption ;" and he shall be right-
eousness and redemption to you, " who his own
self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteous-
ness." If you come in Christ, and set your heart
to please him, making this your chief concern, he
will graciously accept you.

O consider the condescension of your God ; let
me say to you, as Naaman's servant to him, " My
father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great
thing, Avouldst thou not have done it ? How much
rather when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean !"
If God had demanded some terrible, some severe
and rigorous thing of you, to escape eternal damna-
tion, would you not have done it ? Suppose it had
been to spend all your days in sorrow in some howl-
ing wilderness, or pine with famine, would you not
have thankfully accepted eternal redemption, though
these had been the conditions ? Nay, farther, if God

THE MOTIVES TO CONVERSION. 177

had told you that you should burn in the fire for
millions of ages, or be so long tormented in hell,
would you not have accepted it ? Alas, all these
are not so much as one grain of sand in the glass
of eternity. If your offended Creator should have
holden you but one year upon the rack, and then
bidden you come and forsake your sins, accept
Christ, and serve him a few years in self-denial,
or lie in this case for ever and ever ; do you think
you should have hesitated at the offer, and disputed
the terms, and have been unresolved whether you
were to accept of the proposal ? 0 sinner, return
and live ; why shouldst thou die when life is to be
had for taking, when mercy entreats thee to be
saved? Couldst thou say, "Lord, I knew thee,
that thou wast a hard man," even then thou wouldst
have had no excuse ; but when the God of heaven
has stooped so low, and condescended so far, if still
thou stand oflF, who shall plead for thee ?

Objection. Notwithstanding all the advantages of
the new covenant, I am unable to repent and be-
lieve, and so comply with itg conditions.

Answer. These you may perform by God's grace
enabling ; but let the next consideration serve for a
fuller answer.

6. God doth offer all needed grace to enable you.
" I have stretched out mine hand, and no man re-
garded." What though you are plunged into the
ditch of that misery from which you can never get

AlUinc't Alarm. X 2

178 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

out ? Christ offereth to help you out ; he reacheth
out his hand to you ; and if you perish, it is for
refusing his help. " Behold, I stand at the door and
knock; if any man open to me, I will come in."
What though you are poor, and wretched, and blind,
and naked ? Christ oflFereth a cure for your blind-
ness, a covering for your nakedness, riches for your
poverty ; he tenders you his righteousness, his
grace : " I counsel thee to buy of me gold, that
thou mayest be rich ; and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed ; and anoint thy eyes with eye-
salve, that thou mayest see." Do you say. The
condition is impossible ; for I have not wherewith
to buy? You must know that this buying is
" without money and without price." This buying
is by begging and seeking with your whole heart.
God commandeth thee to know him, and to fear him.
Dost thou say. Yea, but my mind is blinded, and my
heart is hardened from his fear? I answer, God
doth offer to enlighten thy mind, and to teach thee
his fear. So that now, if men live in ignorance and
estrangement from the Lord, it is because they will
not understand and desire the knowledge of his
ways. "If thou criest after knowledge, if thou
seekest her as silver, then shalt thou understand
the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of
God." Is not here a fair offer ? " Turn ye at my
reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto
you." Though of yourselves you can do nothing.

CONCLUSION. ITQ

yet you may do all through his Spirit enabling you,
and he offers assistance to you. God bids you
" wash and make you clean." You say you are
unable, as much as the leopard to wash out his
spots. Yea, but the Lord doth offer to cleanse you ;
so that if you are filthy still, it is through your own
wilfulness ; " I have purged thee, and thou wast not
purged." " 0 Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made
clean ? When shall it once be ?" God invites you
to be made clean, and entreats you to yield to him.
0 accept his offers, and let him do for you, and in
you, what you cannot do for yourselves.

CONCLUSION.

And now, beloved, let me know your mind ; what
do you intend to do ? Will you go on and die, or
will you turn and lay hold on eternal hfe ? How
long will ye linger in Sodom ? " Hoav long will ye
halt between two opinions ?" Have you not yet
resolved Avhether Christ or Barabbas, whether bliss
or torment, whether this vain and wretched world,
or the paradise of God, be the better choice ? Is it
a disputable case whether the Abana and Pharpar
of Damascus be better than all the streams of Eden ;
or whether the vile pool of sin is to be preferred
before the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding

180 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

out of tlie throne of God and of the Lamb ? Can
the world in good earnest do that for you which
Christ can ? Will it stand by you to eternity ? Will
pleasures, lands, titles, and treasures descend with
you ? If not, had you not need look after some-
thing that will ? What mean you to stand waver-
ing ? Shall I leave you at last, like Agrippa, only
almost persuaded? You are for ever lost if left
here ; as good be not at all, as not altogether a
Christian. How long will you rest in idle wishes
and fruitless purposes ? When will you come to a
fixed, firm, and full resolve ? Do not you see how-
Satan cheats you by tempting you to delays ?
How long hath he drawn you on in the way of per-
dition ?

Well, put me not oflf with a dilatory answer ; tell
me not of hereafter^ I must have your immediate
consent. If you be not now resolved, while the
Lord is treating with you and inviting you, much
less are you like to be hereafter, when these im-
pressions are worn off, and you are hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. Will you give me your
hand ? • Will you set open the door and give the
Lord Jesus the full and ready possession? Will
you put your name unto his covenant ? What do
you resolve upon ? If you still delay, my labor is
lost, and all is likely to come to nothing. Come,
cast in your lot ; make your choice. " Now is the
accepted time ; now is the day of salvation : to-day,

CONCLUSION. 181

if you ■will hear his voice." Why should not this
be the day whence thou shouldst be able to date
thy happiness ? Why shouldst thou venture a day
longer in this dangerous and dreadful condition?
What if God should this night require thy soul ?
" 0 that thou mightest know in this thy day the
things that belong to thy peace, before they be hid
from thine eyes !" This is thy day, and it is but a
day. Others have had their day, and have received
their doom ; and now art thou brought upon the
stage of this world, here to act thy part for thy
eternity. Remember, thou art now upon thy good
behavior for everlasting ; if thou make not a wise
choice now, thou art undone for ever. What thy
present choice is, such must be thine eternal con^
dition.

And is it true indeed ? Are life and death at thy
choice ? Why, then, what hinders but that thou
shouldst be happy ? Nothing doth or can hinder
but thine own wilful neglect or refusal. It was the
saying of the eunuch to Philip, "See, here is water;
what doth hinder me to be baptized?" So I may
say to thee. See, here is Christ, here is mercy, par^
don, life; what hinders but that thou shouldst be
pardoned and saved ? One of the martyrs, as he
was praying at the stake, had his pardon set by him
in a box, which indeed he rightly refused, because
upon unworthy terms ; but here the terms are most
honorable and easy. 0 sinner, wilt thou perish

182 m ALLEINE'S ALARM.

with tliy pardon by thee ? Do but forthwith give
thy consent to Christ, to renounce thy sins, deny
thyself, take up the yoke and the cross, and thou
earnest the day : Christ is thine ; pardon, peace,
life, blessedness, are all thine. And is not this an
offer worth embracing ? Why shouldst thou hesi-
tate or doubtfully dispute about the case ? Is it
not past controversy whether God be better than
sin, and glory than vanity? Why shouldst thou
forsake thy own mercy, and sin against thy own
life ? When wilt thou shake off thy sloth, and lay
by thine excuses ? " Boast not thyself of to-mor-
row, thou knowest not" where this night may lodge
thee.

Now the Holy Spirit is strivirlg with you — he will
not always strive. Hast thou not felt thine heart
warmed by the word, and been almost persuaded to
leave off thy sins and come to Christ ? Hast thau
not felt some motions in thy mind, wherein thou
hast been warned of thy danger, and told what thy
careless course would end in? It may be thou art
like young Samuel, who, when the Lord called once
and again, knew not the voice of the Lord ; but
these motions are the offers, and callings, and striv-
ings of the Spirit. 0 take advantage of the tide,
and know the day of thy visitation.

Now the Lord Jesus stretcheth wide his anns to
receive you ; he beseecheth you by us. How mov-
ingly, how meltingly, how compassionately he call-

CONCLUSION. 183

eth. The church is put into a sudden ecstasy at
the sound of his voice, "the voice of my beloved."
0 wilt thou turn a deaf ear to his voice ? Is it not
the voice that breaketh the cedars, and maketh the
mountains to skip like a calf ; that shaketh the wil-
derness, and divideth the flames of fire ? It is not
Sinai's thunder, but a soft and still voice. It is not
the voice of Mount Ebal, a voice of cursing and ter-
ror, but the voice of Mount Gerizira, the voice of
blessing and glad tidings of good things. It is not
the voice of the trumpet nor the noise of war, but a
message of peace from the King of peace. I may
say to thee, 0 sinner, as Martha to her sister, " The
Master is come, and he calleth for thee," Now
then, with Mary, arise quickly and come unto him.
How sweet are his invitations'! He crieth in the
open concourse, " If any man thirst, let him come
unto me and drink." How bountiful is he ! He
excludeth none. " Whosoever will, let him take the
water of life freely." " Come, eat of my bread,
and drink of the wine that I have mingled. For-
sake the foolish and live." " Come unto me, take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and ye shall
find rest to your souls." " Him that cometh unto
me, I will in no wise cast out." How doth he be-
moan the obstinate refuser ! " 0 Jerusalem, Jeru-
salem, how often would I have gathered thy children,
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
and ye would not!" "Behold me, behold me: I

184 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

have stretched out my hands all the day to a rehel-
lious people." 0 be persuaded now at last to throw
yourselves into the arras of his love.

Behold, 0 ye sons of men, the Lord Jesus hath
thrown open the prison, and now he cometh to you
by his ministers, and beseecheth you to come out.
If it were from a palace or paradise that Christ did
call you, it were no wonder that you were unwilling ;
and yet how easily was Adam beguiled thence ; but
it is from your prison, from your chains, from the
dungeon, from the darkness, that he calleth you,
and yet will you not come ? He calls you unto
liberty, and yet will you not hearken ? His yoke is
easy, his laws are liberty, his service is freedom, and,
whatever prejudice you may have against his ways,
if God may be believed, you shall find them all
pleasure and peace, and shall taste sweetness and
joy unutterable, and take infinite delight and felicity
in them.

Beloved, I am loath to leave you ; I cannot tell
how to give you over. I am now ready to close,
but I would see a covenant made between Christ
and you before I end. What, shall I leave you at
last as I found you ? Have you read hitherto, and
not yet resolved to abandon all your sins and to
close with Jesus Christ? Alas, what shall I say;
what shall I do ? Will you turn off all my impor-
tunity? Have I run in vain? Have I used so

CONCLUSION. 185

many arguments, and spent so much time to per-
suade you, and must I sit down at last in disap-
pointment ? But it is a small matter that you turn
me off; you put a slight upon the God that made
you ; you reject the compassion and beseechings of
a Saviour, and will be found resisters of the Holy
Ghost, if you will not now be prevailed upon to
repent and be converted.

Well, though I have called you long, and you
have refused, I shall yet this once more lift up my
voice like a trumpet, and cry from the highest
places of the city before I conclude, with the miser-
able exclamation, " All is over !" Once more I shall
call after regardless sinners, that, if it be possible, I
may awaken them : " 0 earth, earth, earth, hear the
word of the Lord." Unless you be resolved to die,
lend your ears to the last calls of mercy. Behold,
in the name of God, I make open proclamation unto
you : " Hearken unto me, 0 ye children ; hear in-
struction and be wise, and refuse it not."

" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters ; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy
and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without
money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend
your money for that which is not bread, and your
labor for that which satisfieth not ? Hearken dili-
gently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and
let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your
ear and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall

186 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

live ; and I "will make an everlasting covenant
with you, even the sure mercies of David." Isa.
65 : 1-3.

Ho, every one that is sick of any manner of dis-
ease or torment, or is possessed with an evil spirit,
whether of pride, fury, lust, or covetousness, come
ye to the Physician ; bring your sick ; lo, here is he
that healeth all manner of sicknesses, and all man-
ner of diseases, among the people. Matt. 4 : 23, 24.

Ho, every one that is in distress, gather yourselves
unto Christ, and he will become a Captain over you.
He will be your protection from the arrests of the
law ; he will save you from the hand of justice.
Behold, he is an open sanctuary to you ; he is a
known refuge. Away with your sins and come in
unto him, lest the avenger of blood seize you, lest
devouring wrath overtake you.

Ho, every blind and ignorant sinner, come and
buy eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Away with
thy excuses ; thou art for ever lost if thou continue
in this state. But accept of Christ for thy Prophet,
and he will be a light unto thee. Cry unto him for
knowledge, study his word, take pains about re-
ligion, humble thyself before God, and he will teach
thee his way, and make thee wise unto salvation.
But if thou wilt not follow him, but sit down be-
cause thou hast but one talent, he will condemn
thee for a wicked and slothful servant. Matthew
25 : 24-26.

CONCLUSION. 187

Ho, eveiy profane sinner, come in and live. Re-
turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on thee ;
be entreated. 0 return, come. Thou that hast filled
thy mouth "with oaths and execrations, all manner
of sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven thee, if
thou wilt but thoroughly turn unto Christ and come
in. 0 unclean sinner, put away thy whoredoms out
of thy sight, and thy adulteries from between thy
breasts, and give up thyself unto Christ, as a vessel
of holiness, alone for his use ; and then, " Though
thy sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ;
and though they be red like crimson, they shall be
as wool." Luke 7 : 4Y ; Isa, 1:18; 4:7.

Hear, O ye drunkards, how long will ye be
drunken ? Put away your wine. Though you have
rolled in the filthiness of your sin, give up your-
selves unto Christ, to live soberly, righteously, and
godly ; embrace his righteousness ; accept his gov-
ernment ; and though you have been vile, he will
wash you. Rev. 1:5.

Hear, 0 ye loose companions, whose delight is in
vain and wicked society, to sport away your time in
carnal mirth ; come in at Wisdom's call, and choose
her and her ways, and you shall live. Prov. 9 : 5, 6.

Hear, 0 ye scorners, hear the word of the Lord,
Though you make a sport at godliness and the pro-
fessors thereof, though you have made a scorn of
Christ and of his ways, yet even to you doth he
call, to gather you xinder the wings of his mercy.

188 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

In a word, though you should be found among the
worst of that black roll, 1 Cor. 6:10, yet upon your
thorough convei-sion you shall be " washed, you
shall be justified, you shall be sanctified in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

Ho, every formal professor, thou art but a luke-
warm Christian, and restest in the form of godliness.
Give over thy halting ; be throughout a Christian,
and be zealous and repent ; and then, though thou
hast been an offence to Christ, thou shalt be the joy
of his heart. Rev. 3 : 16-20.

And now bear witness that mercy hath been
offered you. "I call heaven and earth to record
against you this day, that I have set before you life
and death, blessing and cursing ; therefore choose
life, that you may live." I can but entreat and warn
you ; I cannot otherwise compel you to be happy ;
if I could, I would. What answer will you sond
me with to my Master ? Let me speak to you as
Abraham's sei-vant to Nahor's family, " And now if
you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell
me." 0 for such a happy answer as Rebecca gave
them: "And they said. We will call the damsel,
and inquire at her mouth. And they called Re-
becca, and said unto her. Wilt thou go with this
man? and she said, I will go." 0 that I had but
this from you. Why should I be your accuser, who
agonize for your salvation ? Why should the pas-
sionate pleadings of mercy be turned into horrid ag-

CONCLUSION. 189

gravations of your obstinacy and additions to your
misery ? Judge in yourselves ; do you not think
their condemnation will be doubly dreadful, that
shall still go on in their sins, after all endeavors to
recall them ? Doubtless " it shall be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon, yea, for Sodom and Gomorrah,
in the day of judgment, than for you !" Matthew
11 : 22, 24.

Beloved, if you have any pity for your perishing
souls, close with the present offers of mercy. If the
God that made you have any authority with you,
obey his command and come in. If you are not
the despisers of grace, and would not shut the
doors of mercy against yourselves, repent and be
converted ; let not heaven stand open for you in
vain ; let not the Lord Jesus open his stores, and
bid you buy without money and without price in
vain ; let not his Spirit and his ministers strive with
you in vain, and leave you now at last unpersuaded,
lest the sentence of condemnation go forth against
you.

Father of spirits, take the heart in hand that is
too hard for my weakness. Do not thou end, though
I have done. A word from thy effectual power will
do the work. O thou, that hast the key of David,
that openest and no man shutteth, open thou this
heart, as tliou didst Lydia's, and let the King of
glory enter in, and make this soul thy captive. Let

190 ALLEINE'S ALARM.

not the tempter harden him in delays ; let him not
stir from this place, nor take his eyes from these
lines, till he resolve to forego his sins, and accept
of life on thy self-denying terms. In thy name, 0
Lord God, did I go forth to these labors ; in thy
name do I close them. Let not all the time they
have cost be lost hours ; let not all the thoughts of
the heart, and all the pains that have been about
them, be but lost labor. Lord, put thy hand upon
the heart of this reader, and send thy Spirit, as once
thou didst Philip to join himself to the chariot of
the eunuch vi^hile he was reading the word. And
though I should never know it while I live, yet I
beseech thee, 0 Lord God, let it be found at the
last day that some souls are converted by these
labors; and let some be able to stand forth and
say, that by these persuasions they were won imto
thee. Amen, Amen. Let him that readeth say,
A7nen.

THE END.

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